


BROS BEFORE JIHOON

by reinashards



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: BECAUSE THIS IS A CHAT FIC, Chatting & Messaging, Fluff and Crack, If chat fics are not your cup of tea then best to avoid reading this fiction, It's a chat fic with minor narration, M/M, Minor Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Minor Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan, but I swear there's a plot hidden there somewhere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 30,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24770047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reinashards/pseuds/reinashards
Summary: In which Soonyoung has to face a new love rival, Seokmin is forced to confront his past when his ex suddenly reappears and Minghao tries to blissfully ignore the fact that he wants to be more-than-friends with his best friend.(Or basically, it's another seventeen's chat fic.)
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Lee Seokmin | DK, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 180
Kudos: 325





	1. jeongmal mianhae

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  btw - by the way  
> A-NEEEE-WAY - anyway  
> ISTG - i swear to god  
> smh - shaking my head  
> mianhae, jeongmal mianhae - i'm sorry. i'm really sorry.  
> ttyl - talk to you later
> 
> ** **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

**HIGHLIGHT**  
 _\- naegahosh, dinoRAWR, thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Monday, 8:35 ]

  
 **naegahosh** i would like to make a formal announcement to the team  
 **naegahosh** also, by any chance, has anyone seen jihoon today?

 **dinoRAWR** not me  
 **dinoRAWR** why, hyung? 

**naegahosh** uh, well 👉👈   
**naegahosh** i just saw him and y’all  
 **naegahosh** he looks so damn adorable today with his oversized white sweater and beige beret 😔✊

 **dinoRAWR** hyung, just know that when i see you later  
 **dinoRAWR** imma give you a slap 

**naegahosh** 😔😔😔✊✊✊   
**naegahosh** fair enough   
**naegahosh** he’s still adorable though 

**thathandsomechinesedude** LMAO   
**thathandsomechinesedude** this is pathetic, even for you   
**thathandsomechinesedude** just confess to the man, dude. tell him how you feel. let it all out, you’ll feel better afterwards. believe me, been there, done that.

 **the8** jun, you’ve no right to laugh at him   
**the8** it took you two full years to ask mina out   
**the8** and even then, you were a fumbling idiot

 **thathandsomechinesedude** but haohao   
**thathandsomechinesedude** i still asked her out in the end, didn’t i?   
**thathandsomechinesedude** 😏😏😏😏   
  
**the8** 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😏😏😏😏   
  
**the8** btw hyung, what's the announcement?

 **naegahosh** uhhhh, didn't i just say it?  
 **naegahosh** jihoon looked adorable and i just thought you guys should know

 **the8** chan's right   
**the8** you deserve a slap, hyung 

**naegahosh** 😔😔😔   
**naegahosh** please let me live   
**naegahosh** A-NEEEE-WAY   
**naegahosh** if you happen to see jihoon, please tell him he looks adorable  
 **naegahosh** it is imperative that he is notified by as many people as humanly possible

 **thathandsomechinesedude** sorry, soon. i value my life   
**thathandsomechinesedude** so, no 

**dinoRAWR** same 

**the8** same (2) 

**naegahosh** ☹️☹️☹️☹️   
**naegahosh** why are my friends so mean?!

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Monday, 10:02 ] 

**seokkie** MY FELLOW BROTHERS FROM DIFFERENT MOTHERS   
**seokkie** ARE WE BREAKING FAST TOGETHER? 

**naegahosh** bro   
**naegahosh** why are you speaking like thor?   
**naegahosh** but yeah, i'm in. jihoon is busy today 

**seokkie** broooooooooooo 

**naegahosh** yes, bro? 

**seokkie** why do you always put jihoon first? we are your brothers-in-arms, did you forget that?   
**seokkie** BBJ!  
 **seokkie** you promise us that 

**naegahosh** huh   
**naegahosh** what’s a bbj?   
  
**seokkie** BROS BEFORE JIHOON 

**uriboo** lol   
**uriboo** seokmin hyung, you’re so dramatic   
**uriboo** and i can’t join. i need to submit this econs paper before lunch and i'm only halfway there 

**seokkie** that's okay, kwannie. some other time then   
**seokkie** soon hyung, i guess it will just be a bro date between us then 

[ Monday, 10:10 ] 

  
**seokkie** hyung?  
 **seokkie** hyungggggggggg?   
**seokkie** where are you?  
  
**uriboo** lol   
**uriboo** bet jihoon got to him 

**seokkie** HYUNG?!!   
**seokkie** are you abandoning your bro for a hoe again?!   
**seokkie** HOW DARE YOU   
**seokkie** 😡😤 

**MY BABY BOY 🥰🥰🥰🥰**   
_\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Monday, 10:10 ] 

  
**WOOZI** hey soonyoung   
**WOOZI** are u there? 

**naegahosh** yes, hoonie? 😊😊😊😊   
**naegahosh** how may i be of assistance? 

**WOOZI** uh well   
**WOOZI** i've something important to tell you. i'm wondering if you can come over to the studio after class   
**WOOZI** but only if you are not busy   
  
**naegahosh** i will never be too busy for you, hoonie   
**naegahosh** i will swing by after practice, is that okay? 

**WOOZI** that’s fine   
**WOOZI** thanks

 **naegahosh** you’re welcome 😊😊   
**naegahosh** see ya later, hoonie! 

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Monday, 10:20 ] 

  
**naegahosh** HEY, TAKE THAT BACK! IT'S NOT COOL!   
**naegahosh** jihoon is not a hoe! 😡😡😡😡 

**seokkie** FINE, THEN YOU ARE   
**seokkie** STOP TRYING TO DITCH US FOR YOUR MANCRUSH   
  
**naegahosh** i'm not!  
 **naegahosh** it’s just that jihoon was messaging me so i got distracted a little bit   
**naegahosh** where are you? i'm on my way to have lunch with my favourite dongsaeng! 

**uriboo** excuse me?   
**uriboo** the discrimination, i cannot believe 

**seokkie** HYUNG!!!! 😭😭😭😭   
**seokkie** you do love me best!   
**seokkie** i'm sorry for being rude to you about your mancrush. i swear i have nothing but respect for jihoon hyung   
**seokkie** and you, of course 

**naegahosh** HAHA, i love you too!   
**naegahosh** i’ll meet you at the cafeteria in ten minutes, okay? 

**seokkie** 😭😭   
**seokkie** okay! 

**uriboo** ISTG, i feel like i'm invisible in this groupchat sometimes   
**uriboo** i should start looking for better friends, smh 

**❤️ FAM ❤️**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, cheolie, hannie -_  
[ Monday, 18:25 ] 

**uriboo** wanted: brand new roommates   
**uriboo** application is now open, anyone who’s not seok or soon may apply 

**cheolie** what happened? why are they moving out so suddenly?   
**cheolie** did you guys had a fight or something? 

**uriboo** with a heavy heart, i've an announcement to make   
**uriboo** bookseoksoon are breaking up   
**uriboo** it’s over between us 

**hannie** 😒😒😒😒   
**hannie** are you being dramatic again, boo? 

**seokkie** 😱😱😱😱😭😭😭😭   
**seokkie** but why?! i thought we’re working things out. i swear i'll change. don't leave me behind with our rebellious son. he's too obsessed with tigers!

 **uriboo** nuh uh  
 **uriboo** i'd enough, it’s over   
**uriboo** it's time for me to find myself 

**dinoRAWR** i swear kwan, you deserve a slap like soonyoung hyung too   
**dinoRAWR** 😒😒 

**uriboo** YAH, it’s hyung to you 

**dinoRAWR** 👅👅👅👅 

**uriboo** why, you lil shit   
**uriboo** one of these days, i swear i'm going to get you 

**hannie** kids KIDS   
**hannie** please stop fighting, it’s only monday   
**hannie** and why is soonie so quiet?   
**hannie** ah wait, jihoon? 

**seokkie** sigh   
**seokkie** jihoon 

**uriboo** jihoon (2) 

**dinoRAWR** jihoon (3) 

**cheolie** jihoon (4) 

If ignorance is truly a bliss, then Kwon Soonyoung is more than happy to be left in the dark. If _not_ knowing could save him from experiencing affliction and suffering, then he is more than willing to remain blissfully unaware. If the truth has the power to bring about this much pain and heartache into his life, then he's better off not knowing anything at all. But it's too little too late. The moment he stepped into the dimly-lit studio; the gear of fate is already turning, triggering a chain of events that he's clearly not prepared for when he agreed to an impromptu meeting with his best friend. What do you do when the world as you know it crumbles right in front of you? How do you even mitigate such a disaster?

“Hey.” Soonyoung greets the only other occupant of the room with a smile.

Jihoon looks up from the lyrical papers he has been browsing while waiting for Soonyoung's arrival. “Hey.” 

“What’s up?”

“I need to tell you something. Uh, you might want to sit down for this.” 

“Hoonie?” Soonyoung frowns when he sees how nervous Jihoon is. “Is something wrong?” 

**❤️ FAM ❤️**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, cheolie, hannie -_  
[ Monday, 18:45 ] 

  
  
**naegahosh** Oh.  
  
**seokkie** ? 

**uriboo** ?? 

**dinoRAWR** ??? 

**cheolie** ???? 

**hannie** ????? 

**naegahosh** jihoon just told me he's in love with someone  
 **naegahosh** i'd to admit, his new boyfriend is cute. i saw his picture

 **hannie** oh baby   
**hannie** are you alright?

 **seokkie** 😭😭😭😭   
**seokkie** hyunngggggggg   
**seokkie** are you okay?

 **dinoRAWR** hyung, tell me, do i need to fight jihoon hyung for you?   
**dinoRAWR** cause i will! 

**uriboo** me too!   
**uriboo** 👊👊👊👊 

**cheolie** uhhhhh   
**cheolie** i think i messed up

 **hannie** choi seungcheol, what did you do?!

 **cheolie** i might have accidentally played a hand in setting them up 

**hannie** CHOI SEUNGCHEOL 

**dinoRAWR** how could you betray soonyoung hyung like that?!   
**dinoRAWR** 😱😱 

**cheolie** omg, i'm really sorry! 😭😭😭😭   
**cheolie** i didn’t know that they are interested in each other like that! i thought they just wanna talk about lyrics and stuff   
**cheolie** mianhae, jeongmal mianhae

 **naegahosh** hyung, it’s okay. i'm fine   
**naegahosh** or i will be fine   
**naegahosh** besides, you can't force what's not there in the first place, right? i'm just happy that jihoon is happy 

**cheolie** soonyoung! 😭😭😭😭 

**naegahosh** anyway, i've to go  
 **naegahosh** ttyl 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Line excerpt from the Instagram post is from Ed Sheeran’s Happier.


	2. SEOKMIN IS ADOPTED?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  yas yas - yes yes  
> 4 LYFE - for life  
> bf - boyfriend  
> fav - favourite  
> btw - by the way  
> idk - i don't know  
> dw - don't worry  
> rn - right now  
> ttyl - talk to you later  
> whut - what  
> lmao - laughing my ass off  
> aduel - son  
> hmu - hit me up
> 
> ** **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

😔😔😔😔   
_\- seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Tuesday, 07:42 ] 

**seokkie** hey uh, so last night   
**seokkie** did you hear it? 

**uriboo** 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 i did  
 **uriboo** he's been crying all night and you know how hyung is. if he knows we’re awake, he will stop crying and pretend that everything’s ok. i rather let him cry it out than to bottle it all up  
 **uriboo** so i let him be EVEN THOUGH I REALLY WANNA HUG HIM REALLY REALLY TIGHT   
**uriboo** i hate jihoon hyung for hurting our hyung like this 😤😤😤😤 

**seokkie** kwannie, you know it’s not his fault, right?   
**seokkie** sometimes, you find yourself falling for someone without any rhyme or reason  
 **seokkie** you just have no control over it   
**seokkie** the heart wants what it wants 

**uriboo** 😔😔 yeah i know   
**uriboo** but it still hurts to see him like that 

**seokkie** me too   
**seokkie** should we skip class and keep him company today? 

**uriboo** YAS YAS  
 **uriboo** I'M DEFINITELY IN

 **seokkie** let’s order pizza and chill with netflix! 

**uriboo** 👌👌   
**uriboo** i'll let hyung know! 

**BEST FRIENDS 4 LYFE**  
 _\- naegahosh, wonWOO -_  
[ Tuesday, 08:01 ] 

**naegahosh** wonu   
**naegahosh** it hurts so bad   
**naegahosh** why won’t he like me?! 😩😩😩😩

 **wonWOO** oh dude   
**wonWOO** i'm so sorry 

**naegahosh** he looked so damn happy talking about his new bf and there i was, thinking about how much i want to kiss him   
**naegahosh** i'm such an asshole   
**naegahosh** no wonder he doesn’t like me 😭😭😭😭 

**wonWOO** hey soon, come on   
**wonWOO** it’s not your fault he caught feelings for someone else. it has nothing to do with you  
 **wonWOO** you know...this could be a blessing in disguise. maybe now, you can finally start to move on 

**naegahosh** but wonu   
**naegahosh** i don’t want anyone but him  
 **naegahosh** 😭😭😭😭 why can't i have my jihoonie?! 😭😭😭😭

 **wonWOO** i know  
 **wonWOO** hold on tight, i'm coming over 🏃🏃🏃🏃  
 **wonWOO** looks like my bestie needs a hug 

**naegahosh** wonuuuuuuuuu 😭😭😭😭   
**naegahosh** if not for the fact that i'm hopelessly in love with jihoon...

 **wonWOO** you would have fallen for me? 

**naegahosh** yes yes, you perfect specimen of a bro dude 😭😭 

**wonWOO** you sap  
 **wonWOO** better get yourself ready for a hug fest, we are going to cuddle all day long

 **naegahosh** ❤️❤️❤️❤️ 

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Tuesday, 08:12 ] 

  
**uriboo** soonyoung hyung   
**uriboo** get your ass out here, we ordered your fav pizza and switched on netflix   
  
**naegahosh** pepperoni? 🥺

 **uriboo** duh   
**uriboo** we are going nowhere today, it's just us and our lovely couch   
**uriboo** so come on 

**seokkie** we have naruto and boruto on queue   
**seokkie** it’s gonna be that kinda marathon 😏😏 

**naegahosh** guysssssssss   
**naegahosh** 😭😭😭😭   
**naegahosh** you know I love you guys so fucking much, right? 

**uriboo** d’awwww   
**uriboo** we love you and your annoying tiger ass too   
**uriboo** ❤️❤️ 

**seokkie** LET'S DO THIS!   
**seokkie** BOOSEOKSOON FIGHTING! 💪💪💪💪 

**naegahosh** 😭😭🙌🙌   
**naegahosh** btw, wonu is coming over too   
**naegahosh** he promised me a hug fest

 **seokkie** 👌👌 ok!   
**seokkie** there’s enough food for all of us! 

  


**still MY BABY BOY 😔😔😔😔**  
 _\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Tuesday, 10:20 ] 

**WOOZI** hey 

**naegahosh** hi

 **WOOZI** this might seem a little bit out of the blue, i mean, it actually is but mingyu wants to have dinner with you since you’re my best friend and all. what do you say?

 **naegahosh** uh   
**naegahosh** i can’t 

**WOOZI** oh, it doesn’t have to be this week   
**WOOZI** we can meet up next week or so 

**naegahosh** still can’t   
**naegahosh** i'm busy 

**WOOZI** next month then?   
**WOOZI** would that be better for you?

 **naegahosh** i'm not sure   
**naegahosh** i'm realllyyyy busy 

**WOOZI** oh, ok   
**WOOZI** then let me know when you’re free then 

**naegahosh** ok

 **WOOZI** hey youngie? 

**naegahosh** yeah? 

**WOOZI** we are okay, right? 

**naegahosh** yeah  
 **naegahosh** why did you ask? 

**WOOZI** idk   
**WOOZI** you’re too quiet when i talked about mingyu yesterday, and then today...  
 **WOOZI** you'll let me know if something’s wrong, right?  
 **WOOZI** i promise i won't get mad

 **naegahosh** yup, i know 😊😊 dw hoonie, everything's fine!  
 **naegahosh** actually, i'm busy rn, ttyl? 

**WOOZI** uh yeah, ok 

“Jihoon wants me to meet his boyfriend.”

Soonyoung places his cellphone down on the countertop. He's in the kitchen with Wonwoo, working hard to create an alcoholic concoction that would make his momma proud. He needs to get drunk, pronto. He couldn't stand the pressure of having unrequited feelings for one of his best friends anymore. It's threatening to spill out of the Pandora Box he has successfully kept shut all these years. He needs to be able to not think, even if it's just for a day. Even if it's just a temporary fix.

“Say no then. You’ve no obligations to meet him and his new beau.” 

“I did but I think I hurt his feelings. What do I do?” 

A sigh. “I know it's not his fault but he did break your heart. Maybe time apart will be good for the both of you. You shouldn’t force yourself to spend time with him if you’re not ready. It’s not fair for you either. So don't worry too much about it, okay?” 

“Yeah, okay.” 

**❤️ FAM ❤️**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, cheolie, hannie -_  
[ Tuesday, 13:25 ] 

**hannie** hey baby? 

**cheolie** yes? 

**hannie** 😒😒😒😒 not you  
 **hannie** i'm referring to my child, the one i've raised and coddled since birth  
 **hannie** that baby 

**dinoRAWR** yessss? 

**uriboo** you know  
 **uriboo** sometimes i do wonder how we look like from an outsider’s perspective   
**uriboo** y’all are too weird   
**uriboo** 😒😒😒😒 

**hannie** shut up child. your appa is talking, don't be rude   
**hannie** and not you, chan   
**hannie** i forget i have so many kids here   
**hannie** yooohooooo minnie, my sweet summer child? 

**dinoRAWR** you forget?!  
 **dinoRAWR** APPA, HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING ANOTHER SECRET FAMILY FROM US?! HUH, HAVE YOU?! I CANNOT BELIEVE!  
 **dinoRAWR** we've just been betrayed by cheol appa yesterday and now it’s you  
 **dinoRAWR** why?! why would our parents hurt us like this? 

**hannie** channie, nooooo! 😭😭 i'm nothing like your other appa   
**hannie** i will never abandon our family!  
 **hannie** it’s only you and minnie and soonie and boo, you guys are my babies!

 **cheolie** yah! i'm your baby too 😟😟😟😟  
 **cheolie** why am i not in your line up?!

 **hannie** traitors don’t get to be in the line up 😠😠😠😠  
 **hannie** stay away from us, cheol!  
 **hannie** you are breaking this family apart, can't you see?!  
 **hannie** i must protect my babies 

**cheolie** I'M SORRY, OKAY?! I WILL DO BETTER FOR MY FAMILY. I PROMISE. PLEASE LET ME IN!  
 **cheolie** 😭😭😭😭😭😭 

**uriboo** like i said   
**uriboo** #tooweird 

**seokkie** lmao   
**seokkie** what’s up, hyung? 

**hannie** there you are! uh, well   
**hannie** there’s no easy way for me to say this BUT   
**hannie** promise me that you won't panic   
**hannie** whatever i'm about to tell you, just know that we are here for you 

**seokkie** 😰😰😰😰😰   
**seokkie** what is it 

**dinoRAWR** is this the day when you let him know that he’s adopted?   
**dinoRAWR** is it?!!!! 

**seokkie** 😱😱😱😱😱  
 **seokkie** I’M WHUTTTTTT?! 

**naegahosh** LMAO

 **cheolie** hannie, just tell him already   
**cheolie** you are making it worse   
**cheolie** and soonie, my aduel, how are you feeling today? 

**naegahosh** better   
**naegahosh** seok and boo are keeping me company and oh   
**naegahosh** wonu’s here too 🥰🥰🥰🥰 

**hannie** that’s good to hear   
**hannie** we will come over after class okay, my baby cub

 **naegahosh** ok!  
 **naegahosh** but you know you don't have to, right?

 **hannie** i know but we want to!

 **seokki** e uhhh, hyung? 😥😥😥😥 

**hannie** oh right   
**hannie** don't panic but uh   
**hannie** shua's back, he's going to complete his last semester here   
**hannie** are you gonna be okay? 

[ Tuesday, 13:35 ] 

  
**hannie** minnie? hello?

 **uriboo** uhm   
**uriboo** seokmin hyung just got up from the couch and walked to his room, i don't think he will be responding anytime soon

 **hannie** 😔😔😔😔 

**cheolie** 😔😔😔😔 

**naegahosh** 😔😔😔😔 

**dinoRAWR** 😔😔😔😔 

  
**still MY BABY BOY 😔😔😔😔**  
 _\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Tuesday, 21:25 ] 

**WOOZI** hey   
**WOOZI** you there? 

[ Tuesday, 23:00 ] 

**WOOZI** i guess you're still busy then   
**WOOZI** ok   
**WOOZI** hmu when you can   
**WOOZI** take care youngie 

  
  
At the other end of the line, Soonyoung remains motionless as he stares at the sent messages. He knows Jihoon can clearly see the double blue ticks, signalling that he has been reading the messages. He's thankful his friend didn't call him out for it. And he also knows that sooner or later, he will have to face the music. But not now. He’s not ready yet. His heart is still in shambles. Wonwoo's right. He needs time. Jihoon might not know why but Soonyoung hopes his friend would grant him this reprieve anyway. “You take care too, Hoonie. I’m sorry.” 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am and will always be weak for seoksoo, enough said.
> 
> **Line excerpt from the Instagram post is from Zhang Li Yin's Timeless.


	3. dumb dumb soonyoung

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  4 LYFE - for life  
> loml - love of my life  
> boyfie or bf - boyfriend  
> stahp - stop  
> idfc - i don't fucking care  
> idk - i don't know  
> lmk - let me know  
> 4eva - forever  
> anw - anyway  
> tmi - too much information  
> watcha - what are  
> shuddup - shut up  
> lmao - laughing my ass off  
> idek - i don't even know
> 
> ** **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

**BEST FRIENDS 4 LYFE**  
 _\- naegahosh, wonWOO -_  
[ Thursday, 12:01 ] 

**naegahosh** wonu   
**naegahosh** help 

**wonWOO** soonyoung?   
**wonWOO** what’s wrong?! 

**naegahosh** i fucked up real bad. real real bad.  
 **naegahosh** help 

**wonWOO** ???? 

**naegahosh** so i was on my way to my stupid literature lecture this morning and wonu, you know how much i hate it! who the hell schedules a class at 7 in the morning?! satan, that’s who!   
**naegahosh** i swear if it’s not because i'm desperate for the credit, i would have ditched this class a long, long, long time ago 

**wonWOO** soonyoung focus 

**naegahosh** oh right   
**naegahosh** so i was grumpy and cranky and i wasn’t really looking at where i was going   
**naegahosh** and then, THUMP   
**naegahosh** I BUMPED INTO SOMEONE   
**naegahosh** DO YOU WANNA KNOW WHO I FUCKING BUMPED INTO AT SIXISH AM? 

**wonWOO** don’t tell me…

 **naegahosh** if you think jihoon, then you are right   
**naegahosh** IT'S LEE JIHOON, LOML 

**wonWOO** oh no 😓😓😓😓 

**naegahosh** and he’s not alone!  
 **naegahosh** he’s with his new boyfie 

**wonWOO** OH NO 😰😰😰😰 

**naegahosh** and that's not it!  
 **naegahosh** i know him, wonu. i know what he wanted to do the moment he saw me   
**naegahosh** i can see he’s really excited to introduce his boyfriend to me, his ‘supposed to be supportive but is definitely not’ best friend   
**naegahosh** so just before he can open his mouth to greet me, i just tsked and walked away without saying anything

 **wonWOO** 😨😨😨😨 

**naegahosh** i didn’t mean to be rude! 😭😭😭😭😭 i just don’t feel like playing nice and everything cause it's six in the morning  
 **naegahosh** helppppp wonuuuu 

**wonWOO** 😱😱😱😱 

**naegahosh** stahpppppp with the emoticons and help me  
 **naegahosh** jihoon looked so hurt and his boyfriend...  
 **naegahosh** HAVE YOU SEEN HIS BOYFRIEND, WONU?! he's so fucking tall like a tree. i think i pissed him off for making jihoon sad 😭😭 i don’t wanna get punched in the face by a tree. wonu, HELP   
**naegahosh** i was an asshole and jihoon didn’t deserve it   
**naegahosh** it's not his fault that i love him and he couldn’t reciprocate 

**wonWOO** oh buddy   
**wonWOO** oh dear   
**wonWOO** why are you such a hot mess? 

**naegahosh** 😭😭😭😭😭 

**wonWOO** why don’t you message him and explain how you didn’t mean it?   
**wonWOO** i'm sure he would understand that he caught you at a bad time and you didn't mean any harm  
 **wonWOO** knowing jihoon, he will forgive your stupid ass right away

 **naegahosh** uhmmm 

**wonWOO** 😑😑😑😑😑   
**wonWOO** what did you do, soonyoung? 

**naegahosh** 👉👈   
**naegahosh** i did message him after class but i'm afraid i actually made it worse 

**wonWOO** why am i suddenly scared to ask why? 

**naegahosh** 😓😓😓😓   
**naegahosh** i might have told jihoon that since he has been with his boyfriend for a few days only and the relationship will most likely not last in the long run, why bother to introduce him to me? 

**wonWOO** wow   
**wonWOO** that's a whole new level of assholery   
**wonWOO** if his boyfriend won’t punch you, i surely will 

**naegahosh** 😭😭😭😭😭 

**wonWOO** dumb dumb soonyoung 

**naegahosh** 😫😫😫😫😫 

**wonWOO** you’re on your own, kid   
**wonWOO** i'm not getting involved in this. jihoon is my friend too and he doesn't deserve that from you

 **naegahosh** wonuuuuuu 

**wonWOO** make it right, soonyoung   
**wonWOO** or you might just lose him for real this time

**[unknown]**  
 _\- unknown, seokkie -_  
[ Thursday, 12:15 ] 

**unknown** hello, is this seokmin? 

[The sender is not in your contact list. Report Junk] 

**seokkie** who’s this? 

**unknown** it's jisoo   
**unknown** can we talk? 

[ Thursday, 12:20 ] 

**unknown** baby? you there? 

**seokkie** don’t call me that   
**seokkie** you’ve no right after what you did to me

 **unknown** i'm sorry   
**unknown** i don’t mean to overstep  
 **unknown** can we talk, please? i'm right outside your dorm   
**unknown** will you let me in? 

**jeonghan hyung’s PABO**  
 _\- hannie, seokkie -_  
[ Thursday, 12:22 ] 

**seokkie** YOON JEONGHAN   
**seokkie** EXPLAIN 

**hannie** heyyyyyyyy   
**hannie** what’s up? 

**seokkie** DON’T ASK ME WHAT’S THE HELL UP   
**seokkie** WHY IS HONG JISOO STANDING RIGHT OUTSIDE MY DORM? HOW DID HE KNOW WHERE I LIVE? 

**hannie** uhhhh, see   
**hannie** he might have gotten me drunk last night and you know how loose my tongue is when i'm inebriated   
**hannie** minnie, i'm so sorry   
**hannie** 😔😔😔😔 

**seokkie** what did you trade me for? 

**hannie** 😔😔😔😔   
**hannie** he threatened to delete some of cheolie’s baby photos from my phone   
**hannie** i panicked so i spilled 

**seokkie** hyung   
**seokkie** you better hope i don’t cross path with seungcheol hyung this week  
 **seokkie** cause jisoo is not the one you should be afraid of 

**hannie** 😭😭😭😭😭   
**hannie** i'm so sorry, please don’t hurt my cheolie! he's innocent!

 **seokkie** too bad   
**seokkie** you should have thought twice before caving in and betraying me

 **hannie** 😭😭😭😭😭   
**hannie** nooooooooooooooooooooooo 

  
**[unknown]**  
 _\- unknown, seokkie -_  
[ Thursday, 12:44 ] 

**unknown** min? 

**seokkie** go away 

**unknown** i won’t, i'll stay out here all day if i have to 

**seokkie** then rot, idfc 

**still MY BABY BOY 😔😔😔😔**  
 _\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Thursday, 13:20 ] 

**naegahosh** hey hoonie, i know i'm the last person you want to talk to right now   
**naegahosh** but can we? 

**WOOZI** tell me one good reason why i should listen instead of just blocking your number   
**WOOZI** what you said about our relationship is totally uncalled for, youngie. sure, there’s a chance that things might not work out between us but what if it does? what if he's the one for me? have you ever thought of that?

 **naegahosh** i know and you are completely right!  
 **naegahosh** i was a complete asshole and i'm so sorry

 **WOOZI** you know   
**WOOZI** i'm not asking you to like him or whatever   
**WOOZI** but   
**WOOZI** don’t be a jerk   
**WOOZI** you don’t know him like i do so whatever misgivings that you have about him are totally unfair. shouldn't you at least try to get to know him before hating on him? idk youngie, this is so no you. why have you been acting so strange lately? 

**naegahosh** I AM SO SO SOOOOOOOOO SO SO SOOOOOO SORRY! 🙏🙏🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️   
**naegahosh** if i could take it all back, you know i would! i know i screwed up so badly but can you find it in your heart to forgive me? i promise i won’t do it again 

**WOOZI** i'm not the one you should be seeking forgiveness from   
**WOOZI** you know that, right? 

**naegahosh** i know 😔😔😔😔   
**naegahosh** say hoonie, will he be willing to meet up with me? i would like to apologise in person and start over if he would let me 

**WOOZI** 😪   
**WOOZI** i'll ask him but no promises   
**WOOZI** i won’t force him if he decides that he doesn’t want to meet up with you at all

 **naegahosh** THANK YOU, HOONIE!   
**naegahosh** and yes, i completely understand. lmk, okay? 

**WOOZI** ok 

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Thursday, 14:10 ] 

**seokkie** hey guys? 

**uriboo** yeah? 

**naegahosh** ??? 

**seokkie** uh   
**seokkie** i think i just made a big mistake 

**naegahosh** ??? 

**uriboo** soonyung hyung, get the shovel   
**uriboo** don’t worry, hyung, we got your back!

 **naegahosh** roger that 

**seokkie** 😭😭 guys please, you will make me cry even more 

**uriboo** booseoksoon 4eva! 

**naegahosh** hell yeah 

**seokkie** 😭😭 

**uriboo** anw, what’s wrong?   
**uriboo** what's the big mistake? 

**seokkie** this is embarrassing for me to say   
**seokkie** 🥺🥺🥺🥺 

**naegahosh** spill. you know we won’t judge. this is a safe space, remember? 

**uriboo** yup yup 

**seokkie** i might have slept with jisoo 😔😔😔😔 

**naegahosh** WHAT?!!!!!!!! 

**uriboo** what do you mean by MIGHT? did you or did you not? 

**seokkie** we did   
**seokkie** there’s penetration for sure   
**seokkie** i think his ass still hurts from when i uh 

**uriboo** TMI, HYUNG!   
**uriboo** AND HOW COULD YOU? DID YOU FORGET HOW MUCH HE HURT YOU WHEN HE LEFT FOR LA WITHOUT TELLING YOU? HE LEFT YOU! HOW CAN YOU FORGIVE HIM SO EASILY?   
**uriboo** HYUNG, I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW NAÏVE YOU ARE SOMETIMES!

 **naegahosh** hey boo, chill, okay?   
**naegahosh** seokmin needs our understanding right now

 **seokkie** i'm so stupid, aren’t i?   
**seokkie** giving in just because he’s here 

**naegahosh** hey no, that’s not it. please don’t think of yourself that way. we won't let you! you're right, it’s a mistake but it doesn’t make you any less brilliant. we all have weaknesses   
**naegahosh** shua hyung just happens to be your achilles heel 

**uriboo** HYUNG, YOU ARE NOT STUPID, OKAY?   
**uriboo** you’re one of the smartest people i know  
 **uriboo** i'm sorry for saying those awful things   
**uriboo** 😭😭😭😭😭 i didn't mean it!

 **seokkie** that's okay   
**seokkie** i know you don’t! 😊😊😊😊 

**uriboo** YOU’RE MY MOST PRECIOUS HYUNG, OKAY? 

**seokkie** thanks, kwannie 

**naegahosh** aww, you guys are so sweet 🥺🥺🥺🥺   
**naegahosh** anw, we will figure it out, min. besides, it’s just once, right? it doesn’t need to mean anything more than a typical one-night stand 

**seokkie** uhm 

**naegahosh** ?? 

**seokkie** i fucked him three times, hyung  
 **seokkie** that’s why i said his ass is hurting and er, i saw him limping to the bathroom just now

 **uriboo** THREE TIMES?! ARE YOU A MONSTER?????

 **naegahosh** oh min 

**seokkie** 😔😔😔😔 

**that boy i ❤️, 😓🤦‍♂️**  
 _\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Thursday, 14:43 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** haohao   
**thathandsomechinesedude** watcha doing? are you busy?   
**thathandsomechinesedude** do you wanna go on a date with me, baby? 

**the8** you know   
**the8** when you keep talking like that, it’s hard for people to believe we are not dating and you've a girlfriend

 **thathandsomechinesedude** idfc what they say about us. i'll do anything for you. you know that, right? it's us against the world. it always has been.

 **the8** 😪😪😪😪   
**the8** i know   
**the8** anyway, where are we going? 

**thathandsomechinesedude** there’s a new teahouse that just opened at insadong **,** mina wants to check it out! 

**the8** mina’s coming? 

**thathandsomechinesedude** of course, she’s my baby too 

**the8** then no thanks   
**the8** i don’t feel like being the third wheel 

**thathandsomechinesedude** 😔😔   
**thathandsomechinesedude** but haohao, why not?! 

**the8** i'm sure mina prefers to go on a date with just her boyfriend  
 **the8** and not plus her boyfriend’s best friend 

**thathandsomechinesedude** 😔😔😔😔   
**thathandsomechinesedude** but i want you there though   
**thathandsomechinesedude** i asked her and she said she doesn’t mind 

**the8** jun   
**the8** no 

**thathandsomechinesedude** 😔😔😔😔   
**thathandsomechinesedude** please? 🥺🥺 

**the8** urgh   
**the8** fine but you’re paying for everything 

**thathandsomechinesedude** 😄😄😄😄   
**thathandsomechinesedude** deal! 

**the8** i should start learning how to say no to you 

**thathandsomechinesedude** you never can!   
**thathandsomechinesedude** you adore me far too much! ✌️✌️ 

**the8** shuddup   
**the8** i never say i do   
**the8** i hate you 

**thathandsomechinesedude** 😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨😨 

**the8** 😪😪 ok fine, i don’t 

**thathandsomechinesedude** 😁😁😁😁 

**tiger hyung**  
 _\- naegahosh, the8 -_  
[ Thursday, 15:00 ]   


**the8** hyung   
**the8** do you think if i ignore jun long enough, i'll stop feeling this way about him?   
**the8** it’s getting harder and harder to be around him and pretend everything’s fine, it's exhausting  
 **the8** how did you do it with jihoon hyung? 

**naegahosh** oh hao 😭😭   
**naegahosh** i'm so sorry   
**naegahosh** and idk but i'm trying!

 **the8** let me know if you know  
 **the8** i sure would need it 

**naegahosh** do you want me to come over? 

**the8** nah   
**the8** I'm going on a threesome date 

**naegahosh** 😨😨   
**naegahosh** what?! 

**the8** lmao   
**the8** i would love to see your face right now. it's with jun and mina 

**naegahosh** again   
**naegahosh** what?! 😨😨

 **the8** oh grow up, hyung   
**the8** jun wanted me to accompany him for lunch, he’s paying. i'm just a glorified third wheeler 

**naegahosh** 😔😔😔   
**naegahosh** oh baby 

**the8** it’s okay, hyung   
**the8** i've long accepted the fact that we can only be friends. that’s fine by me  
 **the8** I rather have him like this than none at all 

**naegahosh** oh baby   
**naegahosh** why are we so unlucky in love? 😭😭😭😭 

**the8** sigh  
 **the8** idek 

* * *


	4. 97 represent ✊✊

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  idk - i don't know  
> thiccc - thick  
> jk jk - joking joking  
> gtg - got to go  
> wbk - we been knew
> 
> ** **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

**jeonghan hyung’s PABO**  
 _\- hannie, seokkie -_  
[ Friday, 10:08 ]

**hannie** LEE SEOKMIN 

[ Friday, 10:15 ] 

**hannie** i know you're reading my messages!

[ Friday, 10:21 ] 

**hannie** SPEAK, YOU UNGRATEFUL CHILD   
**hannie** DON'T IGNORE ME OR I SWEAR I’LL COME OVER AND DRAG YOUR ASS 

**seokkie** oh my god, hyung, stop with the threats already   
**seokkie** what do you want? 

**hannie** WHAT DO I WANT?!   
**hannie** BOY, YOU BETTER EXPLAIN TO ME WHY MY BEST FRIEND COULD NOT WALK AT ALL BECAUSE YOU FUCKED HIM SIX WAYS FROM SUNDAY   
**hannie** AREN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD? 😠😠😠😠 

**seokkie** hyung, stop speaking in caps! 😭😭  
 **seokkie** it’s giving me a headache 

**hannie** 😤😡   
**hannie** you deserve it!

 **seokkie** 😔😔😔😔   
**seokkie** i'm sorry, okay?! i messed up, i should have known better. hyung, tell him i'm really sorry   
**seokkie** and is he ok? i tried to ask before he left my apartment but he refused to answer. he's mad at me, isn’t he? 😩😩 

**hannie** he’s ok, min. aside from the fact that he couldn’t walk because you pounded his ass so fucking hard, he’s alright. min, he told me he didn’t regret it at all so don’t beat yourself up over it, ok?   
**hannie** shua is an adult. if he didn’t want any of it, he’ll kick your ass himself 

**seokkie** 😔😔😔😔 i'm sorry still 

**hannie** what happened?   
**hannie** i sent him over so that he could talk to you, why did you end up sleeping with each other? 

**seokkie** idk   
**seokkie** you know me, hyung. my control is practically non-existent when it comes to jisoo. he told me how much he missed me and the next thing i know, we’re kissing and i'm in him. he didn’t even let me put on a condom 

**hannie** WHAT?!   
**hannie** that stupid boy 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️  
 **hannie** but well, i'm not surprised tho, i know how shua is   
**hannie** always a slut for your dick and thiccc thighs 

**seokkie** hey! 😠😠   
**seokkie** don’t talk about him like that! he's not a slut! 

**hannie** 💁‍♂️💁‍♂️  
 **hannie** but he is tho 

**seokkie** hyung, please stop. i don’t want to punch you but if you continue, i might have to. and if i have to, cheol hyung will be sad because you’re hurt. and when he’s sad, chan, soon hyung and kwannie will be too. i don’t want the entire family to be upset.   
**seokkie** 😔😔😔😔 

**hannie** aww, look at you defending his honour and all that! 🤭🤭 i approve 😊😊   
**hannie** and yeah, he’s not a slut. DON’T EVER SAY ANYONE IS A SLUT FOR LIKING SEX, MIN 😠😠 it is ok to like sex!

 **seokkie** but uh 😥😥 i didn’t   
**seokkie** hyung did 

**hannie** 😇😇😇😇 and hyung is sorry   
**hannie** now, it’s not my place to tell the both of you what to do. you are adults so figure your shit out.   
**hannie** but min, try not to hurt each other too much, ok? i can’t say much but believe me, there’s a reason why he did the things he did. please be patient with my best friend. he’s a clueless baby 

**seokkie** i won’t hyung   
**seokkie** i promise to be careful 

**hannie** and wear a condom next time! geez, i can’t believe i have to educate you about safe sex at this time and age 😤😤😤😤   
**hannie** what if shua gets pregnant or something? he's too young to have a kid!

 **seokkie** hyung 

**hannie** jk jk 🤭🤭 i gtg, shua’s calling for me. take care, my precious son! 

**seokkie** you too, hyung! 😄😄😄😄 

**still MY BABY BOY 😔😔😔😔**  
 _\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Friday, 10:47 ] 

**WOOZI** thanks  
 **WOOZI** for you know, taking the time to arrange for us to meet up and everything 

**naegahosh** !!!!   
**naegahosh** don’t mention it, hoonie! i started this mess so i should be the one to clean it up. i'm just happy that you guys gave me a second chance to make it right 😔😔 

**WOOZI** don't worry, gyu is too wholesome to hold grudges. come to think of it, he reminds me a lot about seokmin   
**WOOZI** they are the same age too 

**naegahosh** if you know what min just did, i'll bet you won’t feel the same anymore   
**naegahosh** 😅😅 

**WOOZI** do i even want to know? 

**naegahosh** probably not 😅😅   
**naegahosh** it’s better for you if you don’t 

**WOOZI** roger that   
**WOOZI** hey youngie, do you want to hang out around the studio later? i'll be here 

**naegahosh** 😟😟😟😟   
**naegahosh** are you gonna stay there all night again? you need to take better care of yourself, hoonie 😔😔 

**WOOZI** but i got you, don’t i? 😅😅   
**WOOZI** you’ll always be there for me

 **naegahosh** 😪😪   
**naegahosh** you know i do, hoonie 

**WOOZI** great!   
**WOOZI** so i'll see you then? 

**naegahosh** okay   
**naegahosh** see you later 

  
**HIGHLIGHT**  
 _\- naegahosh, dinoRAWR, thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Friday, 11:17 ] 

**naegahosh** y’all   
**naegahosh** i'm weak for lee jihoon 😔😔✊✊ 

**thathandsomechinesedude** wbk 

**dinoRAWR** wbk (2) 

**the8** wbk (3) 

**naegahosh** 😔😔 

**MY BABY BOY’s boy 🌳🌳**  
 _\- naegahosh, mingoo -_  
[ Friday, 12:11 ] 

**naegahosh** hello! 

**mingoo** hi hyung! 😊😊😊😊 

**naegahosh** i just want to say that it’s nice to meet you and i'm really sorry for everything   
**naegahosh** i promise i won’t be an asshole anymore 😔😔 

**mingoo** it’s okay, hyung! i already told you i accepted your apology. we are completely good!  
 **mingoo** 😊😊 

**naegahosh** wow, you completely sound like seokmin over there 🤔🤔   
**naegahosh** by any chance, have you two met? 

**mingoo** seokmin? yes! we have the same biology lecture together!   
**mingoo** 🤗🤗 

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Friday, 12:20 ] 

**naegahosh** you bitch!

 **uriboo** who 

**naegahosh** seokmin!  
 **naegahosh** you didn’t tell me you know jihoon’s new boyfriend, i feel so betrayed! 

**seokkie** 😨😨😨😨 how did you know? 

**naegahosh** he told me! 😤😤😤😤   
**naegahosh** why?! bet you think i wouldn't find out, did ya? well, guess what? I did! 

**uriboo** ooooooooh  
 **uriboo** drama 😏😏 seokmin hyung, you fucked up 

**seokkie** 😔😔😔😔 i'm sorry   
**seokkie** i thought it’s best if you didn’t find out that hao and me are friends with him 

**naegahosh** WHAT?!   
**naegahosh** HAO TOO?! DAMN, I’M SURROUNDED BY TRAITORS! 

**seokkie** 😔😔 we’ve a chat group too 

**naegahosh** 😨😨😨😨 

**seokkie** we called ourselves guchils 😔😔  
 **seokkie** 97 represent ✊✊ 

**naegahosh** i'm speechless   
**naegahosh** 😶😶 

**seokkie** 😭😭 

**naegahosh** from this point on, there’s only boosoon 

**seokkie** 😭😭 

**uriboo** 🤣🤣🤣🤣 i love this kdrama, what’s the title again?   


**MY BABY BOY’s boy 🌳🌳**  
 _\- naegahosh, mingoo -_  
[ Friday, 12:40 ] 

**mingoo** er hyung   
**mingoo** are you there? 

**naegahosh** sorry, gyu   
**naegahosh** i had to take out the trash 

**mingoo** that’s okay 🤗🤗🤗🤗   
**mingoo** anyway, i want to talk to you about something   
**mingoo** i want to tell you that i know 

**naegahosh** what did you know? 🤔🤔 

**mingoo** about ji hyung   
**mingoo** you love him, don’t you? 

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Friday, 12:45 ] 

**naegahosh** FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK 

**uriboo** what now 

**naegahosh** MINGYU KNOWS ABOUT MY FEELINGS FOR JIHOON!   
**naegahosh** FUCKKKKKKKKK 

**seokkie** 😨😨😨😨 what?! 

**naegahosh** DID YOU TELL HIM, MIN?! YOU BETTER CONFESS RIGHT NOW! IF YOU DON'T, I SWEAR I’LL END YOU

 **seokkie** hyung, i did not! i'll never betray your confidence like that 

**naegahosh** what about hao? 

**seokkie** hyung 

**naegahosh** right, stupid question   
**naegahosh** WHAT DO I DO NOW?! 

**uriboo** act cool, agree to nothing. plead the fifth 

**naegahosh** 😭😭 why is this always happening to me?! 

**seokkie** oh hyung 

  
**MY BABY BOY’s boy 🌳🌳**  
 _\- naegahosh, mingoo -_  
[ Friday, 12:55 ] 

**mingoo** hyung?   
**mingoo** did you take out the trash again? 

**naegahosh** no   
**naegahosh** and i don't know what you’re talking about, jihoon is my best friend 

**mingoo** hyung, don’t lie   
**mingoo** i know what falling in love looks like and you are clearly in love with him 

**naegahosh** fine, i love him. happy, now? is this the part where you threatened me to stay away from him? cause there's one thing you should know. jihoon is one of the most important people in my life. i will not stay away just because you don't like me   
**naegahosh** so now that you know, will you tell on me to him? 

**mingoo** 😰😰 WHAT?!   
**mingoo** hyung, no! what kind of person do you think i am?!! 

**naegahosh** i don’t even know you, gyu   
**naegahosh** you are just my best friend’s boyfriend  
 **naegahosh** and apparently a good friend of my dongsaengs 

**mingoo** 😔😔😔   
**mingoo** i just want to let you know that i know and it’s cool with me. sometimes, you just can’t help how you feel, right? 

**naegahosh** oh gyu   
**naegahosh** why do i keep being a complete arse around you? i'm sorry 🙇🏻🙇🏻 

**mingoo** it’s ok, hyung! 😊😊😊😊   
**mingoo** i understand 

**naegahosh** you are a literal sunshine 🥺🥺   
**naegahosh** i'll treat you to coffee the next time we meet, yeah? 

**mingoo** ok hyung! 😊😊😊😊 

**naegahosh** aigooo, this kid   
**naegahosh** it makes me wonder how minghao can stand to be around you and seokmin together 

**mingoo** hao loves us!

 **naegahosh** i bet 

* * *


	5. when you love someone (and they don't love you back)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  lemme: let me  
> ik - i know  
> lmk - let me know  
> dw - don't worry  
> ttyl - talk to you later
> 
> ** **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

**BEST FRIENDS 4 LYFE**  
 _\- naegahosh, wonWOO -_  
[ Monday, 10:45 ] 

**wonWOO** where the hell are you?  
 **wonWOO** i turn around in my seat and suddenly, you're not here anymore  
 **wonWOO** aren't we supposed to play video games at your dorm after class?

 **naegahosh** sorry wonu, i didn't get the chance to let you know earlier but there has been a change of plan  
 **naegahosh** i'm on my way to the studio 😊😊

 **wonWOO** lemme guess, you're bringing jihoon lunch?

 **naegahosh** 😊😊

 **wonWOO** you're spoiling him too much

 **naegahosh** i don't mind

 **wonWOO** you should. and where is his boyfriend? shouldn't he be the one who makes sure jihoon is fed on time?

 **naegahosh** you make it sounds like jihoon is a kitten who needs to be taken care of. and so what if he has a boyfriend? i'm still his best friend, you know. i'm allowed to worry about his well-being and stuff  
 **naegahosh** besides, mingyu is in his calculus lecture right now, he wouldn't be able to make it in time for lunch

 **wonWOO** hmm

 **naegahosh** what?

 **wonWOO** nothing

 **naegahosh** spit it out, wonu

 **wonWOO** i just feel that you're getting a bit too chummy with your crush's boyfriend

 **naegahosh** so what if i am, what's the harm in that?  
 **naegahosh** are you not the one who insisted that i should make friends with mingyu?

 **wonWOO** yeah but not to this extent. you even know which lecture he is in right now

 **naegahosh** i just happened to know about it, alright? seokmin has the same classes as mingyu, remember?

 **wonWOO** ik but don't you think you should draw a line? jihoon is not yours to care for anymore

 **naegahosh** i don't like what you're insinuating, wonu. boyfriend or no boyfriend, he's still my best friend no matter what. i care about him

 **wonWOO** i just don't want you to get hurt, okay? i'm concerned about you

 **naegahosh** you've a strange way of showing your concern

 **wonWOO** soonyoung, let's not fight about this

 **naegahosh** whatever  
 **naegahosh** i've to go, i just reach the studio. i'll talk to you later

 **wonWOO** yeah, okay  
 **wonWOO** take care

Soonyoung is not an idiot. He knows the chance to confess has long passed. Jihoon is with someone else now. Someone who isn't him.

God, it feels like he's a bad joke gone sourly wrong. Too delusional to realize the person who he's been having feelings for does not and will never feel the same way. Wonwoo's right, of course. He should stop whatever it is that he's doing and take a step back. It's not good for either of them if he continues down this path. He needs to let go. To move on and maybe find a happy ending of his own. But it's excruciatingly hard, alright? It’s hard to distance himself from Jihoon when all he wants to do is to be around him all the goddamned time. It’s hard to act like he doesn’t care when he’s willing to do almost anything to keep Jihoon happy. It's hard to pretend he's not in love with his best friend when he clearly is.

Look, he knows he has to let go of whatever that’s anchoring him to Jihoon in one way or another. But is it selfish to want a little bit more time with Jihoon before he completely lets go?

Is it? 

“Soonyoung? Why are you standing outside the door like that? Did you forget the passcode?” The love of his life, Lee Jihoon, appears from behind the door. “I set it as your birth-date, remember?” 

How could he forget? It's the date of his fucking birth. He couldn't even begin to understand why Jihoon deems that it's a wise move to set the passcode of his studio to Soonyoung's birth-date. It's best not to ask. Jihoon is already a puzzling entity as he is. “Yeah, I know. I was just on a call with someone earlier.” Soonyoung offers up an excuse. 

Jihoon nods. “Well, come on in. I want to show you something.” 

That piques his interest as he follows Jihoon into his studio. It’s always an honour to be one of the first few people to witness the beginnings of a Woozi production. His best friend is crazy talented when it comes to songwriting and such. “What is it? A new song?” 

“Yup.” Jihoon says as he sits on his usual chair in front of his computer. “A _love_ song.” 

Silence lapses in as Soonyoung swallows uncomfortably. “Is it for Mingyu?” He asks quietly. 

Jihoon turns around in his chair, frowning. “Uh, I guess it could be?” 

“Yah, what kind of an answer is that? Isn't he your boyfriend? Who else would you be writing love songs for?” Soonyoung forces himself to chuckle. 

“I don’t know, okay? I didn’t think about him at all when I wrote this.” Jihoon groans. “Will you just listen?” 

_Who did you think of then,_ _Hoonie_ _? Did I ever come across your mind when you write something like this? Dare I even hope?_

“Yeah, go on and play it. I'm all ears.” He murmurs. 

_Will you ever write a love song because of me?_

* * *

* * *

**tiger hyung**  
 _\- naegahosh, the8 -_  
[ Monday, 23:45 ] 

**naegahosh** hao, you asked me before whether it's possible to stop feeling the way you do if you ignore your feelings long enough. well, here's my answer. i don't think you ever can. if you love him, and i mean, really really love him, you will never be free of him. ever. you will want no one but him for as long as you breathe. and even if he's the shackles that are tying you down, even if you’re drowning because of him, your heart will continue to love him no matter what. why? because he's the fucking one. he’s the one you will fight for even if he will never ever feel the same way about you 

**the8** hyung, are you okay?  
 **the8** did something happen?

 **naegahosh** he has no fucking idea. none, nada, zilch  
 **naegahosh** he doesn't know how much i really fucking love him, hao and it fucking hurts

 **the8** hyung, i'm going to call you, okay?

 **naegahosh** ilovehim i LOVe him i do do do i loveee him YAH LEE jiHOON i love you  
 **naegahosh** you ignorant pompous ass

[ Monday, 23:56 ] 

**the8** hyung, please pick up the phone  
 **the8** i'm worried about you

[ Monday, 23:58 ] 

**the8** hyung?  
 **the8** SOONYOUNG HYUNG

[ Tuesday, 01:22 ] 

**the8** that's it  
 **the8** i'm calling chan

**❤️ FAM ❤️**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, cheolie, hannie -_  
[ Tuesday, 01:33 ] 

**dinoRAWR** hey, is anyone with soonyoung hyung right now?  
 **dinoRAWR** hao hyung said he sent some cryptic messages to him and he's worried

 **cheolie** what happened?  
 **cheolie** he's not with us

 **hannie** is he hurt?

 **uriboo** dw, he's with us

 **seokkie** he suddenly started drinking the moment he's back home from campus  
 **seokkie** won't even tell us anything. we're keeping him company right now

 **hannie** is it because of you-know-who?

 **seokkie** he won't say  
 **seokkie** he just keeps muttering gibberish words that we couldn't understand

 **uriboo** and he's crying while doing it  
 **uriboo** A LOT

 **cheolie** do you need us to come over?

 **uriboo** it's okay, hyung. we got him

 **seokkie** yeah. if we need help, we'll let you know

 **hannie** holler if you need us, we'll be on stand-by

 **dinoRAWR** take care of soonyoung hyung for us

 **cheolie** yeah, be safe

 **uriboo** roger that

 **seokkie** yup

[ Tuesday, 13:22 ] 

**naegahosh** good morning!

 **dinoRAWR** hyung, it's already one in the afternoon

 **naegahosh** i know! i just woke up! 😔

 **dinoRAWR** did you sleep the entire morning away?!

 **hannie** SOONIE, YOU ARE AWAKE! how are you feeling, child?

 **uriboo** did you take the pills and vitamins i left on your bedside table?

 **seokkie** are you ok?

 **cheolie** everyone, calm down. one question at a time, let soonyoung breathe

 **naegahosh** haha, it's okay, hyung  
 **naegahosh** well, let me see if i can answer everyone's questions...yes, i did. i'm feeling better. yes, i did take the pills and vitamins, thank you. i'm ok  
 **naegahosh** i'm sorry everyone for making you worry 😟😟🙏🙏

 **hannie** don't worry about it, soonie. as long you're fine, we're good

 **naegahosh** thanks, hyung

 **hannie** remember that we are here for you

 **dinoRAWR** yeah hyung, always!

 **uriboo** same

 **seokkie** definitely

 **cheolie** for sure

 **naegahosh** thanks guys  
 **naegahosh** imma take a shower now, ttyl

 **dinoRAWR** okay, hyung!

**tiger hyung**  
 _\- naegahosh, the8 -_  
[ Tuesday, 12:45 ] 

**naegahosh** hey hao, i'm really sorry for last night 🙏🙏🙏 i didn't mean to make you worry about me

 **the8** it's ok, i'm just glad you're fine  
 **the8** are you good?

 **naegahosh** i am

 **the8** hyung, are you really?  
 **the8** those words you said last night...

 **naegahosh** it's a long road to recovery but i'm getting there. i'm really fine, hao

 **the8** ok, hyung. i trust you. call me if you need someone to talk to, yeah?

 **naegahosh** yup! take care too!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, you think you're finally over someone but then something happens and you realize it's a load of bull because you're nowhere close. It's the worst kind of relapses. So that's what this chapter is all about. Also, FYI, I've edited the previous chapters to include some Instagram posts.
> 
> **Line excerpts from the Instagram post are from Ted Mosby's How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang's Love Story.


	6. even if it takes you a while (come back to me)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  wat dis - what's this  
> gc - groupchat  
> whatcha - what are  
> boyfie - boyfriend  
> pda - public display of affection  
> bff - best friend forever  
> lmao - laughing my ass off  
> bj - blowjob  
> wuv u - love you  
> dw - don't worry  
> btw - by the way  
> asap - as soon as possible
> 
> * Chapter title is from Seventeen's Pinwheel  
> ** **jisoo.hong** is Joshua's Instagram account.

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Saturday, 9:33 ] 

[ hannie created HANNIE & CO. ]   
[ cheolie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR are added to the chat! ]

**thathandsomechinesedude** oh  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** wat dis

 **hannie** a group chat

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i know but for what

 **hannie** must there be a logical reason why?  
 **hannie** i just feel like making one and so i did, you're most welcome 😎😎  
 **hannie** what's up hoes

 **cheolie** babe, please behave

 **hannie** whatcha gonna do if i don't? 😈

 **WOOZI** ew, please don't use this gc to flex your weird sex stuff and scar us for life  
 **WOOZI** i will sue if you do

 **hannie** my darling bub, why are you so afraid of love? 😟😟

 **WOOZI** don't call me that  
 **WOOZI** and i'm not, i got a boyfriend

 **hannie** stop complaining then

 **thathandsomechinesedude** haha, look at hoon flexing his boyfie

 **WOOZI** shut it, jun

 **thathandsomechinesedude** cheol: please be nice  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** jeonghan: nope, i do what i want  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** jihoon: don't be a menace  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** jeonghan: stop being a whiny bitch then

 **wonWOO** i get a feeling this gc will be nothing but chaos  
 **wonWOO** mark my words

 **the8** there's jun in it, so we are guaranteed some foolery at the very least

 **thathandsomechinesedude** hey!  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** don't be mean to me, i'm just a baby 😔😔

 **dinoRAWR** pfttttt  
 **dinoRAWR** oh please, we all saw you and your girlfriend making out behind the bleachers. you're no baby, hyung  
 **dinoRAWR** baby, my ass

 **hannie** chan, mind your language  
 **hannie** and when was this?

 **cheolie** babe, don't

 **hannie** what? i deserve to know what my children were up to when i'm not around. and jun, what did i say about pda?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** uh  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** don't do it?

 **hannie** no!  
 **hannie** you can do as much pda as you want but be CLASSY! kissing behind the bleachers? it's so cliche!

 **cheolie** uh, babe?

 **naegahosh** but didn't you do the exact same thing with cheol hyung when the football team won the regional championship last year?

 **hannie** yah!  
 **hannie** didn't i specifically tell you to forget what you saw and never EVER mention it to anyone?!

 **naegahosh** woops! 🤭🤭

 **thathandsomechinesedude** pot, please meet kettle

 **wonWOO** see?  
 **wonWOO** we are only twenty minutes in and it's pure chaos

 **WOOZI** my head hurts from reading this

 **the8** btw, who's shua?

 **hannie** oh yeah! i forget that you and jun wouldn't know who shua is  
 **hannie** he's my bff and he just came back from LA to finish his last semester over here. he's the bestest person ever!  
 **hannie** joshuji, where are you?! say hello to my kids!

 **shua** hello?

 **the8** hi! i'm minghao but you can call me hao or the8 if you would like

 **thathandsomechinesedude** hello, i'm jun!

 **shua** nice to meet you guys!

 **naegahosh** wait a minute  
 **naegahosh** speaking of shua hyung, how sure are we that this gc is not created because of some nefarious plot by jeonghan hyung to get seokmin and shua hyung back together?

 **hannie** shut up, cub  
 **hannie** what kind of person do you think i am? i'm not some manipulative bitch

 **cheolie** we all know who you are, babe

 **hannie** shut up, cheol  
 **hannie** or no more morning bj

 **the8** we really REALLY REALLY do not need to know that

 **WOOZI** that's it, i'm bleaching my brain

 **hannie** what is this?  
 **hannie** are you all ganging up on me together?

 **wonWOO** 😰😰 we wouldn't dare, hyung

 **naegahosh** we wuv u very very much

 **hannie** that's more like it

 **dinoRAWR** uh, one question. why would we need some plot to get seokmin hyung and shua hyung together  
 **dinoRAWR** aren't they already dating?

 **seokkie** er no, why would you think that?

 **naegahosh** haha  
 **naegahosh** min, did you stop lurking just to vehemently deny this?

 **seokkie** NOOOOOOOO, i just happened to come online when i saw chan's question

 **naegahosh** sureeeee 😝😝

 **seokkie** yooooohooo, jihoon hyung, do you want to know something?

 **WOOZI** about?

 **naegahosh** fine FINE, i won't tease you anymore

 **seokkie** oh nothing, jihoon hyung! 🤭🤭

 **WOOZI** ok

**jeonghan hyung’s PABO**  
 _\- hannie, seokkie -_  
[ Saturday, 10:11 ] 

**seokkie** BUT DID YOU, HYUNG?!  
 **seokkie** did you create that gc to set up shua and me together?

 **hannie** 😲😲😲😲   
**hannie** why would you accuse your favourite hyung like this? i did nothing wrong

 **seokkie** hmm  
 **seokkie** i'm suspicious but go on

 **hannie** i just want to create an environment whereby i can interact with my favorite people on campus  
 **hannie** is that so wrong?!

 **seokkie** hmm, no one's going to buy that. try again

 **hannie** cheol and me are lonely  
 **hannie** our children won't come and visit us anymore, y'all have grown up so fast 😢

 **seokkie** nice try, we just had a gathering last week

 **hannie** ok fine  
 **hannie** if you must know, i created the gc so that i can keep an eye on soonyoung and jihoon. ever since jihoon got himself a boyfriend, i've been worried about soonyoung's health 😔😔

 **seokkie** 😲😲😲😲

**hannie** keep it to yourself or 🔪🔪  


**seokkie** 😲😲😲😲

**hannie** 😊😊 that's my good summer child  


**my sunshine**  
 _\- shua, seokkie -_  
[ Saturday, 10:23 ] 

**shua** i know we're not dating  
 **shua** but wouldn't it be nice if we are?

Jisoo waits patiently for the grey ticks to turn into blue but even after they do, there's still no response.

Oh well, the silence is answer enough. It's startlingly clear that Seokmin is still not ready to discuss about them or their past. All they have done thus far is to meet up and have a romp in the sack. While he would be lying if he says he doesn't enjoy these meet-ups, he wants more than just physical intimacy. He craves for some form of permanency (even though he knows he probably doesn't deserve it). He doesn't want to be a temporary fling. He fought tooth and nail for that one-way return ticket to Seoul and he's not willing to back down for anything less than Seokmin's love and acceptance. He's even ready to get down on his knees and beg for it. And it's not fair to Seokmin, he knows it's not. It's not fair to expect so much when he's the one who is in the wrong. The circumstances surrounding their break-up were iffy as hell and he knows Seokmin is still struggling to come to terms with it. It must have not been easy for Seokmin to see an ex coming back into his life but Jisoo is more than willing to face the heat if it means that he'll get to be with his baby once again. 

_Hope._ He's hoping there's still a future for them.

* * *

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Saturday, 10:44 ] 

**naegahosh** seokmin and jeonghan hyung are suddenly silent  
 **naegahosh** but i can see seokmin is busy typing into his phone, what's the dish?

 **uriboo** oooooooh drama

**naegahosh** yah boo, you always surface whenever there's drama. aren't you tired?  


**uriboo** for gossip? never  


**hannie** it's nothing **  
hannie** stop spreading lies, soonyoung  


**WOOZI** hyung, can i add mingyu into this gc since he knows almost everyone in this group?

**hannie** uhhhh

**seokkie** oh  


**wonWOO** uh uh

 **WOOZI** oh  
 **WOOZI** it's ok if you guys are not comfortable with him yet  
 **WOOZI** i just thought this would be a good chance for you lot to get to know him a little bit better since he will be around a lot more now

 **naegahosh** go ahead, hoonie. the more, the merrier 😊😊

**jeonghan hyung’s cub**  
 _\- naegahosh, hannie -_  
[ Saturday, 10:53 ] 

**naegahosh** hyung, let mingyu in  
 **naegahosh** i'll be fine  


**hannie** are you sure?  


**naegahosh** yeah, dw about me  


**hannie** oh baby, i always will cause you're my baby cub  


**naegahosh** 🥺🥺 i love you, hyung

**h** **annie** i love you too  


**naegahosh** btw, did you really create a gc to get seokmin and shua hyung back together?  


**hannie** 😎😎 of course. they desperately need a push so i'll be that 'push'  


**naegahosh** I KNOW IT!  


**hannie** keep it to yourself or 🔪🔪

**naegahosh** my lips are sealed, hyung!  


**hannie** 😊😊 that's my precious baby cub 

**naegahosh** let me know if there's anything i can do to help  


**hannie** will do!  


**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Saturday, 11:01 ] 

**hannie** go ahead and add him in, ji  


**WOOZI** really?

**hannie** yeah, it'll be fun!  


[ mingoo is added to the chat! ] 

**mingoo** uhm, hello?  


**hannie** hello!  


**wonWOO** hi

**naegahosh** yo  


**the8** 'sup  


**seokkie** hey man

**mingoo** hi, everyone! 😁😁 i'm kim mingyu, jihoon hyung's boyfriend. it's nice to meet you! 😊😊  


**hannie** oh my, you sound like a puppy   
**hannie** so adorable 

**cheolie** oh no

**hannie** you will do  


**mingoo** uh, okay?

**WOOZI** i was afraid of this happening  


**mingoo** what happened?

**WOOZI** congrats gyu, you just got adopted by jeonghan hyung  


**mingoo** huhhh?

**cheolie** just nod your head and say yes  
 **cheolie** it would make your life so much easier  


**mingoo** why does it sounds like jeonghan hyung is some cult leader, should i be worried?  


**hannie** oooooh, that's an interesting idea  
 **hannie** should i start a cult? you guys can be my first batch of loyal followers! 😌😌  


**naegahosh** NO  


** seokkie  ** NO (2)  


 **uriboo** NO (3) **  
**

 **dinoRAWR** NO (4) **  
**

**WOOZI** NO (5)

**cheolie** babe, i love you but please don't start a cult  


**the8** yah gyu, why would you suggest something so horrifying?

**thathandsomechinesedude** i'm leaving for china if jeonghan hyung ever starts one  


**wonWOO** take me with you  


**hannie** you fakes  
 **hannie** where's the blind faith and devotion?  


**dinoRAWR** hyung, you have cheol hyung for that  


**hannie** oh yah  
 **hannie** cheol, do you loveeeee me?

**cheolie** i do  
 **cheolie** i really really do 😔  


**naegahosh** god bless cheol hyung  


** seokkie ** god bless cheol hyung (2)  


 **uriboo** god bless cheol hyung (3) **  
**

**mingoo** uh, i have a strange but strong feeling that i should flee asap  


**hannie** too late, i know you now  
 **hannie** besides, can't you see that it's my name on the gc's title? the moment you're in, i own you. it's a lifetime membership, no takebacks  


**cheolie** babe, please  


**hannie** 😎😎  


**wonWOO** pure chaos, i tell ya  


**my sunshine**  
 _\- shua, seokkie -_  
[ Saturday, 12:11 ] 

**shua** seok, are you ever going to talk to me  
 **shua** or will we continue to pretend?

**seokkie** have we not been talking?  


**shua** i'm referring to something other than those down-to-fuck invites to your dorm after classes

**seokkie** fine. you want to talk? let's talk then  
 **seokkie** let's talk about why you suddenly left me, your boyfriend of 7 years, without any note or goodbye  


**shua** seok, please  
 **shua** me leaving back then has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. please trust me

**seokkie** trust? you want to talk about trust?  


**shua** seok, i don't mean it like that  


**seokkie** i proposed to you that night, jisoo!  
 **seokkie** did you remember or was it just another convenient excuse for you to leave me?  


**shua** babe  


**seokkie** YOU SAID YES!  
 **seokkie** you said yes  that night  and made me the happiest guy in the world! i remembered thinking how lucky i was to be able to spend the rest of my life with the man i loved. even though everyone around me was saying that i was being too hasty, i did it anyway because i believed in us! you said you'll never leave me! you looked me straight in the eyes and promised me that you'll stay by me! so what happened? what's so dire that you're willing to throw all of that away? throw me away?  


**shua** seok, believe me when i say that i'll always be in love with you. i never stop. i promise, in time, i'll tell you everything but not right now  


**seokkie** well  
 **seokkie** i guess you just answered your own question  


**shua** no seok, please  


**seokkie** i think it's best if we put a pause on things  


**shua** what? no!  


**seokkie** good luck on your master program, jisoo hyung  
 **seokkie** i wish you the very best  


**shua** SEOK, PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS  


[ Saturday, 12:24 ] 

**shua** seok?  
 **shua** baby?  


[ Message Not Sent! ]   
[ This person is not receiving messages at this time. ] 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Jeonghan is the literal definition of chaos. This is supposed to be a seoksoo's chapter but Jeonghan unknowingly dominates. Anyway, next chapter will be a ride to junhao's nation!


	7. you're all i want (can i be her?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  boi - boy  
> btw - by the way  
> ya - you  
> ily - i love you  
> ily2 - i love you too  
> ikr - i know right  
> gtg - got to go
> 
> *Chapter title is from James Arthur's Can I Be Him  
> ** **moonjunhui** is Jun's Instagram account  
> *** **notminghao** is Minghao's private Instagram account. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Saturday, 11:01 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** hey soonyoung

 **naegahosh** yeah?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** you sly tiger, why would you keep it a secret from us normal folks?

 **naegahosh** huh?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** mind sharing with the class why my boi, renjun, has asked me to pass his number to you?  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** btw, isn't he too young for you?

 **WOOZI** oh?

 **uriboo** ooooooooh  
 **uriboo** did soonyoung hyung just got hit on?

 **dinoRAWR** congrats hyung!

 **the8** your boy?  
 **the8** since when is renjun your boy?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** shhhh baby, don't interrupt my interrogation. i'll explain it to you later  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** so soonyoung?

 **naegahosh** what do you want me to say?  
 **naegahosh** i bumped into him on my way to class, we talked for a short while and that's about it

 **thathandsomechinesedude** you player, don't act like you don't know a thing. he's been a fan of yours since he saw you dancing during last year orientation's day

 **naegahosh** i didn't know that  
 **naegahosh** again, what do you want me to say?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** well, isn't it obvious?  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** he clearly wants you to ask him out

 **naegahosh** thanks but no thanks  
 **naegahosh** tell him i'm not interested

 **thathandsomechinesedude** why not? you're single, right?  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** a bunch of us are going out later, do you want to join? renjun will definitely be there 😏😏

 **naegahosh** i rather not, thanks

 **thathandsomechinesedude** what? whyyyyyyyyy? you guys would look so good together as a couple!

 **WOOZI** jun, back off  
 **WOOZI** soonyoung already said he's not interested

 **thathandsomechinesedude** whoa, sensitive much?  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** you don't need to get your panties in a twist, why are you so mad for?

**WOOZI** because you are being annoying  
 **WOOZI** soonyoung is clearly not interested and you keep bugging him to say yes

**thathandsomechinesedude** you're such an asshole sometimes, hoon  


**WOOZI** right back at ya  


**naegahosh** guys, please don't fight  


**thathandsomechinesedude** hard not to when he's such an ass  


**WOOZI** same

**cheolie** stop it, you two. you guys are supposed to be the hyungs of this group so why are you fighting like kids?  
 **cheolie** jun, it looks like soonyoung doesn't want to pursue anything further with your friend, so let's respect his decision, okay? and ji, i know your intention is good and all but there's a better way to go about doing it.  you're rude and mean. jun is your friend, he deserves better  
 **cheolie** the both of you need to apologize to each other

 **thathandsomechinesedude** fine. hoon, i'm sorry, okay? i didn't mean to call you an asshole  


**WOOZI** yeah, i'm sorry too. we cool?  


**thathandsomechinesedude** yeah, we are  


**WOOZI** cool

**mingoo** d'awww that's cute  


**hannie** look at my baby daddy sorting his kids out, i'm so proud  


**cheolie** thanks babe, ily  


**hannie** ily2  


**wonWOO** ew, please don't  


**uriboo** there they go again  


**hannie** betrayed by my kids yet again, how on earth did it come to this?  


**WOOZI** hey youngie  
 **WOOZI** want to come over and hang out at my studio? i'm here right now  


**naegahosh** yea sure, let me shower and i'll head right over  


**WOOZI** ok, i'll wait  


**SEOKBOO in da house!**  
 _\- seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Saturday, 11:31 ]   


**seokkie** uhm  
 **seokkie** did jihoon hyung just ask our hyung to keep him company at his studio instead of his boyfriend who is RIGHT THERE in the gc?

 **uriboo** ikr **😔😔 **it's soooo awkward  
 **uriboo** and the way jihoon hyung jumped on jun hyung when he's trying to set up soonyoung hyung for a date with his friend...that's not normal, right?

 **seokkie** yeah  
 **seokkie** are we missing something over here?

 **uriboo** i honestly don't know

 **seokkie** do you think there's a tiny weeny bit of chance that jihoon hyung might actually has feelings for soonyoung hyung?  
 **seokkie** i mean...it's not far fetched right?

 **uriboo** that's possible, hmmm  
 **uriboo** but why is he in a relationship with mingyu hyung if that's the case? i don't think i would want to be in a committed relationship with someone else if i have a probable crush on my best friend.

 **seokkie** that's true

 **uriboo** oh OH  
 **uriboo** what if he's in denial?!

 **seokkie** that's possible, i would be so happy for soonyoung hyung if that's true  
 **seokkie** but oh shit

 **uriboo** what what

 **seokkie** what about gyu?! he'll be so crushed by this

**uriboo** shit  


**seokkie** **😔😔**

**uriboo 😔😔**

**that boy i ❤️, 😓🤦**  
 _\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Saturday, 11:40 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** haohao, do you want to meet?

 **the8** where?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** at our usual cafe?

 **the8** sure, i'll be there in ten

 **thathandsomechinesedude** ok

* * *

* * *

**that boy i ❤️, 😓🤦**  
 _\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Saturday, 14:15 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** hao please  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** can we talk about this? i'm so sorry

 **the8** i'm so mad, i don't even want to talk to you right now  
 **the8** how could you, jun?! that's such a dumbassery move. the jun i know will never do that kinda shit

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i'm so so sorry  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** just please, will you hear me out?

 **the8** i don't want to hear your excuses, jun

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i won't offer any, baby, so please?

 **the8** fine, talk

 **thathandsomechinesedude** first of all, i need you to know how sorry i am. it's never my intention to hurt you. i know this might sound cheesy and everything but i'm going to say it anyway. hao, you're one of the most important people in my life. like fuck, i don't know how i can make it in this foreign country if not for you. i am who i am because of you, i'm not even ashamed to admit it **  
thathandsomechinesedude** i feel terrible, okay? **  
thathandsomechinesedude** i should have acted better

 **the8** he's an old friend of mine, jun  
 **the8** you socked my friend in the jaw and i don't even know why!

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i must be the shittiest human alive right now, huh  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** even i don't like me right now

 **the8** no, you're not, jun. you just made a huge, terrible mistake, that's all  
 **the8** but you need to apologize to my friend, he doesn't deserve that from you

 **thathandsomechinesedude** yeah i will. i swear  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** but hao, can i ask you something?

 **the8** what

 **thathandsomechinesedude** what's your relationship with him? the both of you seem so comfortable with each other  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** did you guys date before or something?

 **the8** yeah  
 **the8** we dated for a while but we'd to break up when i moved to seoul. why?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** uhm  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** are you thinking about getting back together?

 **the8** what kind of a question is that?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** just answer me please

 **the8** why

 **thathandsomechinesedude** please hao

 **the8** i'm not sure **  
the8** i mean, would it be so wrong if we do? both of us are single and available

 **thathandsomechinesedude** oh  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** yeah cool

 **the8** jun, are you ok?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** yeah i am

 **the8** you sure? **  
**

 **thathandsomechinesedude** my mom's calling me, i gtg. bye, minghao

_Bye, Minghao._

Minghao stares at the words on the screen. His best friend has never, ever call him by his full name before. Not once in the entirety of their friendship. It's always been a myriad of nicknames; _haohao, baby, darling, hun_ but never Minghao. Something's wrong, he just couldn't figure out what it is.

To make things worse, he still couldn't understand why Jun behaved in that manner at the cafe. A coincidental run-in with a beloved friend (and old flame) suddenly ended with an abrupt punch in said friend's face, courtesy of Wen Junhui. But why? His best friend doesn't even know this friend of his so why the animosity on Jun's part? Why did he get so angry? And Minghao couldn't even discount how weird their chat conversation turned out in the end. If he doesn't know any better, it feels like Jun is jealous of his ex. But that would be ridiculous, right? Jun has a girlfriend. He's in love with said girlfriend. He would never have hidden, unresolved feelings for his gay best friend.

“Stop it, Hao.” He murmurs to himself. “Stop being delusional. He loves Mina, not you. ”

Somehow that realization breaks his heart a little bit more.

* * *


	8. u broke my heawwrt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
> legends:  
> omw - on my way
> 
> ** **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

**ji, ji, ji, ji, baby baby 😍😍**  
 _\- mingoo, WOOZI -_  
[ Tuesday, 08:47 ] 

**mingoo** babe, should i pick you up at ten? what time does your class ends?

 **WOOZI** what for?

 **mingoo** hyung, did you forget about our date again? we are supposed to go out for lunch together, remember?  
 **mingoo 😔😔😔😔  
**

 **WOOZI** shit, i forgot  
 **WOOZI** i'm sorry, gyu

 **mingoo** it's okay, you know i can't stay mad at you for long 😁😁  
 **mingoo** so are we good for later?

 **WOOZI** gyu, i'm really really sorry but i can't  
 **WOOZI** rain check?

 **mingoo** are you busy, hyung? 😟😟

 **WOOZI** uh, i have a recording session with soonyoung. i can't cancel now. we've been planning this for weeks  
 **WOOZI** i'm sorry

 **mingoo** oh, it's okay then. it's work, so i understand. we'll just meet another day or something. fighting!  
 **mingoo** say hi to soonyoung-hyung for me!

 **WOOZI** thanks gyu

 **mingoo** love you!

 **WOOZI** take care

**still MY BABY BOY 😔😔😔😔**  
 _\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Tuesday, 09:13 ] 

**WOOZI** hey youngie  
 **WOOZI** are you coming?

 **naegahosh** yes, yes!  
 **naegahosh** i'm omw. got caught up in the last lecture because my professor is a spawn of satan 😤😤 i swear i saw the horns on his head the other day. he won't admit to it but I KNOW

 **WOOZI** yah, this again?

 **naegahosh** 😤😤

 **WOOZI** are you sure it's not because he's angry at you for falling asleep during his lecture again?

 **naegahosh** uh

 **WOOZI** and you wonder why he has it out for you? **  
**

 **naegahosh** but he's super-duper boring! he can't blame me if i dozed off in class **😔😔**

 **WOOZI** hmm

 **naegahosh** anyway, thanks for doing this for me. i know it's a last-minute thing and you don't have to say yes so i really appreciate it

 **WOOZI** that's okay, it's not like i'm skipping out on something important to do this

 **naegahosh** 😔😔 still, you're so good to me

 **WOOZI** and don't you forget that, kwon soonyoung

Jihoon tries to tamp down the feeling of guilt. It's not his intention to lie to his boyfriend, okay? It's just that his best friend sounded so pitiful last night when he complained about how sick and tired he was of using cover songs of popular bops for his dance assignments and how he would love to work on an original arrangement for once. So, what else is he supposed to do as a loyal and faithful friend? Besides, Mingyu and him have been on countless dates since they've become official, so what's one missed one? It's not like they are going to break up over a single missed opportunity or something. He knows his boyfriend is not the kind of person who gets irrationally jealous over his significant other spending some time with other people. He doesn't think he would be attracted to Mingyu if he was. Anyway, he promised to make it up to Mingyu by accompanying him to one of those overrated, hipster cafes that his boyfriend loves to frequent or something. It would be a lovely surprise for sure.

So, it's fine. Everything's fine.

* * *

* * *

It's Jeonghan's off day today.

No lectures. No work. No study groups. Nothing.

He's supposed to settle down on his favourite couch, switch on the television full blast and binge-watch his favourite drama on Netflix. What he doesn't expect is to have a clingy, morose best friend hugging his left arm like a koala bear and staring sullenly at the screen. But that's fine, he'll make do. When life gives you lemons, you just have to make do and concoct lemon drop shots or something. _Hmmm yum,_ icy cold lemony shots. Okay, he needs to scribble in some time later to make it. There's probably a leftover lemon or two in the kitchen. If not, he would just ask Cheol to drop by the grocery store after his lectures to grab some. Oh yes, he can't wait for—

A sigh.

He blatantly ignores it as he peruses the imaginary to-do list in his mind. Hmm, maybe he should cook some spaghetti and meatballs to go along with that. His boyfriend would love—

Another sigh.

"Okay, what?" Jeonghan snaps at his friend.

But Jisoo only replies with another soft sigh as he burrows deeper into Jeonghan's embrace. Jeonghan has to wait for another minute or so before, "Han, do you think Seokmin still loves me?"

Oh great, another Lee Seokmin debacle. He loves his friends, he really does but sometimes, all he wants to do is to bang their head together, shout at them to get over themselves and communicate already. He's tired of the angst-filled atmosphere clouding them. It's suffocating. "Yes, I do or else, why would he willingly sit through that horrendous musical with you?"

A smack. "Hey, it's a timeless classic!"

"If you say so." Jeonghan aptly says. "So what exactly did you do wrong now?"

Jisoo pouts. "Why would you assume it's me who did something wrong?"

"Because it's Lee Seokmin and he has no malicious bones in his body. My summer child can do no wrong."

"He's perfect, isn't he?"

"Stop it. If you want to be disgusting about your on-and-off boyfriend, do it somewhere else." Jeonghan pauses momentarily before, "Stop hurting that kid. He deserves to know the truth."

Jisoo nods. "I know. And I promise I will but it's hard to know where to start when he already blocked my number."

"Huh?" Jeonghan frowns. "Seokmin did?"

"Han, I think he's really mad at me this time around and I don't know how to fix it."

**jeonghan hyung’s PABO** _  
\- hannie, seokkie -_  
[ Tuesday, 11:01 ] 

**hannie** unblock him

 **seokkie** no

 **hannie** lee seokmin, for the love of god-

 **seokkie** hyung, you know how much i love and respect you but this is between jisoo and me  
 **seokkie** please do not interfere, i'm handling it

 **hannie** handling it? how is blocking his number considered handling it? 

**seokkie** i've made it clear to him that until he's willing to tell me the truth about why he left, there's nothing left to say  
 **seokkie** hyung, we are not high school seniors anymore. if he's truly sincere in fixing it, i wanted him to tell me the truth. that's all i'm asking for

 **hannie** seok-ah, it's not easy for him to say it. please understand

 **seokkie** no, i don't! cause he won't say anything to me!  
 **seokkie** so unless you can tell me why my ex-fiancé has chosen to leave me without a word, i'm seriously not interested in listening to anything anymore

 **hannie** okay, wait. let me talk to him and

 **seokkie** hyung, if he won't tell me out of his own free will, then i don't want it

 **hannie** seokmin...

 **seokkie** honestly, getting back together was a big mistake  
 **seokkie** i should have known better

 **hannie** jisoo really loves you

 **seokkie** and i wish i could believe that  
 **seokkie** hyung, i've to go. i'm late for class

"I'm sorry but—" Jeonghan turns to look at his best friend. "—you're on your own. Fix it, Shua. I'm tired of having to be the go-to person between the both of you."

Yet again, another sigh fills the air.

Oh hell, he's not getting the peace he so deserves, isn't he?

* * *

* * *

**still MY BABY BOY 😔😔😔😔**  
 _\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Thursday, 02:17 ] 

**naegahosh** bad pewrson!

 **WOOZI** excuse me?

 **naegahosh** hoonwie u r a bad bad pewrson!  
 **naegahosh** i dun like u anymore hmph

 **WOOZI** youngie, are you drunk? where are you?

 **naegahosh** u r not listenin to me  
 **naegahosh** im sayin u r a bad bad pewrson!!

 **WOOZI** okay okay, i'm a bad person. will you tell me where you are? is seokmin or seungkwan with you?

 **naegahosh** u always make me wan something i should not wan  
 **naegahosh** y?! y muz u always do this 2 me?! my heawwrt hurts so much all the time becoz of u  
 **naegahosh** i knw u wun ever like me but y muz u be so cruel? dun treat me so nice like dis coz i might think that i got a shot wif u. andz i knw i dun

 **WOOZI** youngie, what are you saying?

 **naegahosh** n stop being so damn hasdsomes!!

 **WOOZI** i'm using the gps app to find you. stay where you are, i'll come to you. don't go anywhere, youngie.

 **naegahosh** noooooooooooo. dun come here. soonie dun wanna see u  
 **naegahosh** go away 😡😡

 **WOOZI** kwon soonyoung, stop acting like a damn child, goddammit!

 **naegahosh** go away!!

 **WOOZI** youngie, please

 **naegahosh** u broke my heawwrt **  
naegahosh** i

[ Thursday, 02:31 ] 

**WOOZI** youngie, hello?  
 **WOOZI** are you still there?

[ Thursday, 02:41 ] 

**WOOZI** youngie, you're really worrying me right now. please answer my call

[ Thursday, 02:47 ] 

**WOOZI** yah, kwon soonyoung!

 **naegahosh** Hello, are you the boyfriend of the owner of this phone?

 **WOOZI** who are you? where's soonyoung?

 **naegahosh** Oh sorry, I forget to introduce myself. I'm the owner of Club 99. It's a bar in Hongdae. Your boyfriend is passed out drunk and we are closing soon. I'm wondering if you could come and pick him up. Or if you're not the correct person to contact, can you at least tell me who I should call to get help?

 **WOOZI** is he okay?

 **naegahosh** Yes, he just had a little too much to drink.

 **WOOZI** is your bar near the police station?

 **naegahosh** Yes, that's the one.

 **WOOZI** ok. i'm on my way, be there in 30 mins

 **naegahosh** That's great, we shall wait for your arrival then!

 **WOOZI** one more question, why did you think i'm his boyfriend?

 **naegahosh** Oh! It's because he saved you under 'my baby love ❤️❤️🍚🍚'. Apologies if I assume incorrectly.

 **WOOZI** that's okay, i'm reaching soon. thanks for your help

 **naegahosh** You're welcome!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I resolve seoksoo's or junhao's loveline first, what do you think? I'm torn.


	9. a broken hearts club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  da - the  
> babeh- baby
> 
> *** **notminghao** is Minghao's private Instagram account. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

Even though the clock has struck twelve, the night is still young.

It's Friday night after all. The norm is to go out and celebrate the beautiful ending of yet another stress-induced week. But to a certain Kwon Soonyoung, his day is done and over with. After three-hours of dance practice (on top of his mandatory six-hours of lectures), he's ready to call it a night and bow out. He is exhausted beyond belief. If he could, he would literally roll all the way home instead of taking another dreadful step. If you think he's being needlessly dramatic, you're totally right. But you would be too if you are juggling between being a full-time college student and the captain of a national dance club. It's pitch-black when he enters his shared dormitory. Expecting his roommates to be out, imagine his surprise when he flickers the lights on and sees one of his precious dongsaengs sitting on the couch. _Alone._ In the dark.

Uh uh.

That doesn't mean anything good.

“Min?” He says softly, not wanting to startle the other man. 

Silence. 

So it’s one of those nights, huh?

Soonyoung sits down quietly besides Seokmin. “Hey buddy, are you okay?” He tries again.

His silence silences. But that's the way Seokmin is. Unlike Seungkwan who prefers to talk his troubles out loud to anyone or anything who would voluntarily take the time to listen, Seokmin is the complete opposite. The day Jisoo-hyung left for Los Angeles was the day the light in Seokmin's eyes permanently dimmed. Everything about his dongsaeng became just a little bit muted from that point onward. The betrayal cuts deep, even deeper than that one time when they got into a huge fight over an egg and two pairs of mismatched socks (but that's another story for another time). Soonyoung knows just as much as anyone else that there's no instant cure for a broken heart. Only time would heal. And time did.

Until Jisoo-hyung comes back and prods the bad memories awake.

"Hyung," Seokmin breathes out but his eyes remain closed as though he's trying to keep his pain in. "—is it bad that I still miss him so damn much?"

This time, he doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Seokmin and pulls him close. Like dominoes, Seokmin puts up no resistance as he collapses into Soonyoung’s chest. His frame trembles with unshed cries. "Seok-ah, there's nothing wrong with how you feel. So don't ever feel guilty, okay?" Soonyoung says as he presses a fleeting kiss on Seokmin's temple.

"I'm such a loser, hyung."

"Lee Seokmin, don't you dare. You're not a loser."

"I must be." Seokmin says. "Or else, how can I still be in love with someone who left without a word and never bothered to contact me even once in those seven years that he's gone?"

"You're human, that's what you are. Like me. Like the rest of our friends." Soonyoung hugs him even tighter. Oh, how he wishes he could take Seokmin's pain away. His friend doesn't deserve this. "You can't help how you feel but that doesn't mean you do not hurt over him. Loving him doesn't make you a loser, Seok-ah. You're one of the strongest people I've ever known. I'm so proud of you, you know that?"

"I don't want to love him anymore, hyung." Seokmin whispers brokenly, in between hiccoughs of sobs. "It's exhausting to love someone who's never there."

Soonyoung sits there with a lump in his throat and tries to fight back tears. "I know." _I feel the same way about Ji too._ "I'm so sorry you've to go through this."

And throughout the night, Soonyoung doesn't lose his hold on his friend. He hums to the tune of Seokmin's favourite songs as they reminisce about the little things such as how their days had gone or the flavour of the soda Seokmin bought in the convenience mart that morning. At three-fifteen in the morning, when Seokmin falls into a fitful slumber, Soonyoung still finds it hard to follow suit. Love. How could love makes you feel like you are on the top of the world and yet makes you weak as hell? He couldn't help but think that with how much Seokmin, Minghao and him are hurting over it, they should probably start a _broken hearts club_ or something. 

* * *

**that boy i ❤️, 😓🤦**  
 _\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Saturday, 13:40 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** baby, where are you? i'm boreedddddd, let's meet up! 😁

 **the8** really?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** babe?

 **the8** so we're just going to pretend that everything's fine and you didn't go radio silence on me for the past week?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i'm sorry  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** i know my sorrys mean shit to you right now but i really am. i was going through some personal stuff and i needed time to deal with it and sorted myself out. i'm sorry that i had to abandon my friends for a minute while i did that. especially you, my dear haohao. please know that it's never my intention to ignore you in the first place

 **the8** so did you?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** did i what?

 **the8** figure yourself out?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** yeah, i did. the time away...uhm, it's good for me and made me realized a few important things

 **the8** then i'm glad for you  
 **the8** but the next time you want to take some time-off, hit me up with a message before you do so, okay? or i'll not hesitate to come over and sit on you

 **thathandsomechinesedude** ohhhh, i feel da love. thank you, babeh!  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** you're my sweetie plum, you know that, right?

 **the8** oh stop that  
 **the8** say those stuff to your girlfriend, please

 **thathandsomechinesedude** but she's not my sweetie plum, YOU ARE! 😚😚

**the8 😒😒**

**thathandsomechinesedude** so, do you want to meet up today?  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** is my baby free?

 **the8** for you?  
 **the8** always

 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😣😣

 **the8** what what

 **thathandsomechinesedude** don't say stuff like that!

 **the8** you did it to me all the time, wen! i'm just returning the favour

 **thathandsomechinesedude** but it's you! i get shy when you say that kinda stuff to me 😌😌  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** and don't call me wen! 😠

 **the8** what should i call you then?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** your baby? your one and only? your precious darling? your honeybunch?

 **the8** 🤢🤢

**thathandsomechinesedude 😄😄  
**

**the8** so let's meet at carat cafe?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** sure!

 **the8** meet you in twenty

 **thathandsomechinesedude** ok!

**tiger hyung**  
 _\- naegahosh, the8 -_  
[ Saturday, 14:45 ] 

**naegahosh** hao, i just thought of a new dance number. do you want to come over to the studio and tell me what you think?

 **the8** sorry, hyung  
 **the8** i'm busy

 **naegahosh** let me guess  
 **naegahosh** a friendly date with jun?

 **the8** yeah  
 **the8** he's running late but we're supposed to meet at carat

 **naegahosh** ok ok  
 **naegahosh** i shall not disturb you then, have fun!

 **the8** i will. thanks, hyung  
 **the8** and let's meet up on monday so that we can take a look at it together?

 **naegahosh** 😍😍 OKAY!  
 **naegahosh** thanks, hao

 **the8** no problem

**that boy i ❤️, 😓🤦**  
 _\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Saturday, 15:15 ] 

**the8** hey, where are you? i've been waiting for more than an hour

[ Saturday, 15:23 ] 

**the8** jun?

[ Saturday, 15:46 ] 

**the8** you know  
 **the8** if this is one of your weird pranks, i'm not amused

[ Saturday, 16:06 ] 

**the8** okay, that's it  
 **the8** if you don't answer me within the next five minutes, i'm going home

[ Saturday, 16:21 ] 

**the8** seriously?

**tiger hyung**  
 _\- naegahosh, the8 -_  
[ Saturday, 16:44 ] 

**naegahosh** hey are you still waiting for jun?

 **the8** yeah. he's being an asshole by not responding to my calls and messages  
 **the8** why, hyung?

 **naegahosh** er...i don't know how to say this

 **the8** is it about jun?  
 **the8** did you see him?

 **naegahosh** yeah  
 **naegahosh** i just saw him walking with mina to the campus' cafe but then i remembered he's supposed to meet you. 😥😥 so that's why i asked if you're waiting for him still

 **the8** oh

 **naegahosh** i'm sorry 😓😓

 **the8** that's okay, hyung. thanks for letting me know or else, i'll still be waiting here like a fool

 **naegahosh** do you want me to come over to the cafe? i'm not jun but

 **the8** thanks for the offer but i think i'm going home

 **naegahosh** ok. take care, ya?

**that boy i ❤️, 😓🤦**  
 _\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Saturday, 17:01 ] 

**the8** fuck you  
 **the8** thanks for making me feel like a damn fool for the millionth time  
 **the8** you know, if you've changed your mind and wanted to see your girlfriend instead of me, you could have just let me know. i wouldn't blame you at all. i won't fucking mind cause i respect that you're in a relationship and she's your priority. but making me wait hours for you in the cafe is such a dickish move. you're such a dick, jun  
 **the8** i thought you've matured from being a selfish prick but i guess i was wrong  
 **the8** maybe next time instead of wasting my time, why don't you climb off the high horse you're sitting on and understand that not everything in my life revolves around you?  
 **the8** i hate you, wen junhui. i really do

[ Saturday, 21:11 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** hao?  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** i'm so sorry

[ Saturday, 21:16 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** okay, i deserve this but please, let me come over and explain everything? i promise it would make sense

[ Saturday, 21:55 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** hao?

[ Message Not Sent! ]   
[ This person is not receiving messages at this time. ] 

Soonyoung opens the door, takes a single look at the unannounced visitor and says, "You fucked up. Big time."

Wen Junhui simply nods because yeah, he did screw up. No matter how overbearing he has been as a friend, Minghao is always quick to forgive him. But not this time. It doesn't take him long to realize that his best friend has blocked his number. Too distraught, he aimlessly starts walking from his apartment to somewhere unknown. He doesn't even realize he's standing in front of a very familiar apartment till he knocks on the door and his hyung answers it. "I'm in love with him."

There. He finally says it. The truth is out in the open. Of course, he should be saying it to that one person who matters but Minghao's not here, is he? He's not here and Jun is in pieces.

Soonyoung seems to be taken aback by the abrupt confession. "Are we talking about Minghao? Your best friend? My dongsaeng? The one who's really pissed at you for ditching him? That Minghao?"

"Yeah."

"But you've a girlfriend." Soonyoung states the obvious. "Jun, you're in a relationship."

Jun sighs. "Hyung—"

* * *

* * *

**tiger hyung**  
 _\- naegahosh, the8 -_  
[ Sunday, 01:12 ] 

**naegahosh** hao, i know that you don't want to hear anything about jun right now

 **the8** you're right, hyung. i really don't

 **naegahosh** i know i'm asking a lot but i think you should listen to what he has to say

 **the8** hyung, please don't tell me you're on his side

 **naegahosh** i swear i'm not trying to defend what he did to you but take it from someone who has the opportunity to listen to both sides, i think it's worthwhile to give him another shot

 **the8** he's the biggest jerk ever, hyung. i don't want to listen to what he'd to say

 **naegahosh** okay, i understand  
 **naegahosh** i'll let him know

 **the8** he's with you right now?

 **naegahosh** yeah  
 **naegahosh** he's making my pillows all wet 😅😅 but it's nothing i can't handle

 **the8** i'll think about it, okay hyung? just not right now

 **naegahosh** that's fair  
 **naegahosh** take care, yeah?

 **the8** take care of him for me  
 **the8** make sure he has a cup of tea before he goes to bed or he'll wake up with a big headache

 **naegahosh** aigoo  
 **naegahosh** that kid doesn't deserve my sweet, adorable dongsaeng

 **the8** don't call me sweet and adorable. i'm not jihoon-hyung 😤😤  
 **the8** and yeah, he doesn't deserve me but love's weird like that  
 **the8** goodnight, hyung

 **naegahosh** goodnight, my dear dongsaeng

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do expect a bit more narration in the next chapter because yo, this author realizes that she couldn't solve the conflict with a mere chat conversation.
> 
> **Line excerpts from the Instagram post are from Meredith Grey's Grey's Anatomy.


	10. twenty-two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  爱 - love  
> gc - groupchat  
> lol - laugh out loud  
> bf - boyfriend  
> dw - don't worry  
> ig - Instagram  
> sec - second  
> tbh - to be honest  
> ust - Unresolved Sexual Tension  
> bǎobèi - darling
> 
> * **moonjunhui** is Jun's Instagram account  
> ** **the8** is Minghao's Instagram account  
> *** **notminghao** is Minghao's private Instagram account. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

He's 8. Out of all the numbers, combinations or otherwise, this was his favourite. He's at the age when he knew that he needed money to buy his favoured rainbow popsicle, would not hesitate to scour the entire globe if his dearest pet frog ever goes missing and believed his father was a superhero in disguise. And so, despite what the grown-ups might think, he knew he's capable of choosing his own friends and didn't need his parents to arrange a playdate with another kid just because they thought that his circle of friends was too small and needed some fattening up. But he's a dutiful son and loved his parents more than life itself. So he put on his big boy pants and climbed down the stairs when his mother shouted for his name. He didn't know it then but that's the day when he'll meet a boy who would mean more to him than anyone ever would. It's the day when he met Wen Junhui.

Fast forward to four years later and he's 12. His best friend was none other than Jun (well, would you look at that, his parents do know best after all). From a single 'not-really-coincidental' meeting, it had blossomed into a friendship that would last the span of a lifetime. It's a common sight to see them hanging out before, during and after school. Jun will never stray far from him and vice versa. The difference in grade didn't stop them from spending every possible minute that they could manage together. It's as though Jun's the hour-hand of the clock and he's the minute-hand; wherever one went, the other wouldn't be that far behind. He reckoned that's what made them special. That's what made them Jun and Hao.

17 arrived with wanting to throw caution to the wind and be adventurous. They did the dumbest shit together. It's exhilarating to be with someone who's down for anything. With Jun, it felt like he could reach the sky and never come back down to Earth. But more importantly, it came with an Earth-shattering realization that he's in love for the first time ever. It's the year when the green-eyed monster was able to wield so much power over his person as he watched Jun fell in and out of love with everyone else but him. It's also the year when he realized how much unrequited love stung and would never wish it on his worst enemy.

He's 20 and his best friend fell in love with a beautiful girl named Jung Mina. It hurt when Jun confided in him about how he thought that she's 'The Destined One'. Hurt when he's the one who laid out the plan for his best friend (and love) to confess to her. Hurt when he saw just how well said plan worked and Jun found himself in a beautiful relationship with a girl he's in love with. Hurt even more when he couldn't do anything about it. That at the end of the day, he's just a friend. A best friend but a friend nevertheless.

22 and their story continues.

* * *

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Friday, 10:08 ] 

**hannie** hihi  
 **hannie** this gc has been so quiet lately 😊😊

 **naegahosh** i don't know why but that smile scares me

 **WOOZI** same

 **uriboo** same (2)

 **dinoRAWR** same (3) **  
**

 **hannie** 😔😔 whatever do you mean?

 **naegahosh** uh uh, i don't trust that face either

 **mingoo** same

 **wonWOO** same (2)

 **cheolie** same (3)

 **hannie** babe, even you? 😟😟 how could you?

 **cheolie** i'm sorry, love. it's just that i'm the only one right now who can actually see your face  
 **cheolie** and you don't look that trustworthy at the moment

 **hannie** 😤😤  
 **hannie** when will everyone stop suspecting that i'm up to no good?! I AM A GOOD PERSON

 **naegahosh** hyung, trust me, we know you are a good person  
 **naegahosh** it's your...schemes that we don't trust 😅😅

 **hannie** 😤😤

 **wonWOO** we love you still?

 **hannie** yah jeon wonwoo, why is there a question mark behind that statement?

 **uriboo** WE LOVE AND ADORE YOU, JEONGHAN-HYUNG!

 **WOOZI** same

 **dinoRAWR** same (2)

 **wonWOO** same (3)

 **cheolie** same (4)

 **naegahosh** same (5)

 **hannie** 😌😍

 **mingoo** uhm, not to be the odd one out or anything  
 **mingoo** but why did it feel like it's a roundabout way for jeonghan-hyung to get the entire group to confess their undying love for him?

 **WOOZI** shhhhh gyu, please don't say anything more. i fear for your safety

 **mingoo** aww babe, i love you too

 **WOOZI** also, i'm just too young to be a widower

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Friday, 10:48 ] 

  
**uriboo** soonyoung hyung   
**uriboo** are you okay?  
  
**naegahosh** im good, don't worry about me

 **uriboo** 😟😟  
 **uriboo** okay hyung

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Friday, 10:50 ] 

**hannie** anyway, i would like to invite the whole bunch of you to our house tomorrow! we're going to have a small get-together!

 **dinoRAWR** why, hyung?

 **hannie** because cheol and i miss you guys so much! 😔😔 right, babe?

 **cheolie** uhhh, yeah...

 **wonWOO** lol, why did cheol-hyung sound unsure?

 **hannie** ignore him. so will you guys come?

 **uriboo** yup

 **WOOZI** i'm free

 **dinoRAWR** same

 **wonWOO** me too

 **cheolie** i'll be there! 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️ cause it's happening at my house and everything 🤣🤣

 **naegahosh** i'll come!

 **mingoo** same

 **hannie** what about the rest of the fantastic four?  
 **hannie** it doesn't escape me how silent the lot of you are  
 **hannie** even though i know you're reading this chat right now

 **naegahosh** uhm hyung, maybe it's not such a good idea

 **hannie** what? how come?

 **naegahosh** uhhhh

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i'll come if haohao doesn't mind it

 **the8** why would i care?  
 **the8** i'm not your keeper

 **hannie** great! so you guys are in  
 **hannie** shua's coming too! 😊😊

 **shua** han, i didn't say i would

 **hannie** oh, you totally are  
 **hannie** you owe me because you're living rent-free in my apartment and keep on intruding on my sexy times with my bf

 **dinoRAWR** 😨😨  
 **dinoRAWR** appa-a?

 **cheolie** shhh chan, he's talking about our monopoly game 🙂🙂 it's sexy to be smart

 **wonWOO** 🤮🤮

 **shua** 😑😑  
 **shua** fine, you bitch

 **hannie** i love you too!  
 **hannie** how about my summer child? yoohoo, seok?

**jeonghan hyung’s PABO**  
 _\- hannie, seokkie -_  
[ Friday, 11:15 ] 

**seokkie** forget it hyung  
 **seokkie** i'm not going

 **hannie** oh you will

 **seokkie** unlike jisoo, you got nothing on me  
 **seokkie** you can't force me to come

 **hannie** are you sure about that, love? 😇😇

 **seokkie** YES

 **hannie** i got 3 words for you  
 **hannie** summer of 2015

 **seokkie** 😨😨😨😨  
 **seokkie** jisoo's right, you're the spawn of lucifer

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Friday, 11:18 ] 

**hannie** great, seokmin's coming too! 😊😊  
 **hannie** see you guys then. 7pm at our place, do not be late!

 **cheolie** on behalf of jeonghan, i would like to apologize 🙇🙇  
 **cheolie** but do come! we would love to see you guys again 🤗🤗

 **mingoo** amazing  
 **mingoo** it's like seeing a slytherin and a hufflepuff in action

 **wonWOO** 😪😪 tell me about it

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Friday, 11:23 ] 

  
**uriboo** seokmin hyung   
**uriboo** are you okay?  
  
**seokkie** dw about me, kwannie. i'm good too 😙😙

 **uriboo** 😟😟  
 **uriboo** okay hyung

* * *

The party is in full swing when Minghao arrives.

While the second eldest of the group is pretty convincing when he assured them that this event is meant to be a small gathering among close friends (mainly the twelve of them), the number of guests in the apartment suggested otherwise. The loud thumping beats of the music reverberate around the apartment as he cautiously delves deeper into the lion's den. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the 'booseoksoon' trio having one of their infamous dance-offs on the makeshift dancefloor that's situated in the middle of the apartment. Just as he's about to join the merry (because the dance challenge doesn't start until The8 arrives and shows these amateurs how it's supposed to be done), someone grabs his arm. He turns, ready to give some scolding when—

"Can we talk?" Jun says, a serious expression marring his handsome face.

"No." He replies resolutely. This is a party and he intends to have nothing but fun. He doesn't want to deal with the drama of his unrequited love and asshole best friend.

"Please." Jun pleads. "Hao, I want to make this right between us. If you still think that we can't be friends after this, then I swear I'll back off. But please, just give me a chance to explain. That's all I'm asking."

"Why should I?" _Why should I give you another chance to break my heart? Isn't it already broken enough?_

"Because you're my Haohao." Jun says with a soft smile.

 _Oh hell,_ when will he ever stop being weak for Wen Junhui?

He sighs. "Fine. But not here."

"I saw a park behind the apartment."

"Okay."

* * *

**jeonghan hyung’s PABO**  
 _\- hannie, seokkie -_  
[ Saturday, 20:11 ] 

**seokkie** whos that

 **hannie** huh

 **seokkie** the dude thats standing beside jisoo, whos that

 **hannie** oh!   
**hannie** that's hansol 😁😁

 **seokkie** they look close

 **hannie** they better be or it would make all of these so very weird!

 **seokkie** weird how?

 **hannie** jisoo brought hansol from la to seoul  
 **hannie** or rather, hansol is the one who decided to leave everything behind so that he can follow jisoo back to seoul

 **seokkie** hansol is from LA?

 **hannie** yup yup!

 **seokkie** so he's here because of jisoo?

 **hannie** er, you can say that?

 **seokkie** that's cool

 **hannie** i feel like you want to ask me about something else 😕😕

 **seokkie** nah, i'm good

 **hannie** ok! 😁

* * *

Compared to the chaotic atmosphere of Jeonghan's apartment, the park is the complete opposite. It's already eight at night, so there's not that many people walking around the area. They choose a wooden bench that's the furthest away from the jogging trail where they know it would provide them the privacy they need to have this important, long-overdue conversation. There’s a fierce thunderstorm raging in Minghao's heart, making it impossible for him to settle down. He’s nervous. He doesn’t know where tonight’s conversation might lead them to but he’s hoping he would still have a best friend by the end of it. 

"I know you like me." 

The simple proclamation hits him without warning. 

It chills him to the very bone. _Jun knows?_ But how? If there's one thing he's proud of, it's his ability to shove his feelings deep into the recesses of his heart so that they would never see the light of day. It's a coping mechanism he has inbuilt for himself. So there's no way, _no way_ at all that Jun could ever know his best friend is hopelessly in love with him. "No, you don't." He blurts out. "You don't know _shit_ so back-off, Jun! You want to seek my forgiveness? Fine, I forgive you! So can we please go back to the party and—" 

A sad smile inches on Jun's lips. "Do you remember that day when I punched your friend in the face? You asked me then why I acted the way I did and I told you I didn’t know why.” 

"Jun, _please._ " _Stop, I don't want to lose my best friend. Because if we're to continue on this path, I'm sure I will._

"The thing is," Jun mercilessly continues. "I lied. I knew why. I did it because I was jealous."

"Jealous? You punched my friend in the face because you're _jealous_ of him?" He frowns, that's not the answer he'd expected at all. "For God's sake, Jun, why the hell are you jealous for? He's just a friend! And even then—"

“It's because I'm fucking in love with you!” Jun's stern voice cuts through the cold air and renders him speechless. “I love you and I got insanely jealous when he placed his hands all over you, acting as though you're star-crossed lovers reuniting after being thwarted for the dozenth time! Look, I'm not going to make any excuses for my behavior that day because I know it's unacceptable no matter what the reason was. But believe me when I say that I'm so sorry for behaving the way I did. I love you, Hao. I think I've always loved you. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to realize it.”

"That's ridiculous!" Minghao hisses. "Are you drunk? Is that it? Did you drink too much? How can you be in love with me when you have a girlfriend?" 

"We broke up." A pause. "About a week ago." 

_Fucking hell—_ "What? Why would you do that?" He asks in surprise. “You love Mina. You are the one who told me how you could never love anyone as much as you love her!" 

“I don’t think I ever was.” Jun croaked. “Hell, I think I was in love with the idea of falling for someone like her. Maybe I was just deluding myself, thinking that I could love her just as much as I love you. I've been a shitty friend to you, Hao, but I was a shittier boyfriend to her. I couldn't even go anywhere with her without wanting to tag you along with us. What kind of insensitive jerk was I to bring along his best friend to every single date?" 

Minghao snorts, he knows the answer to that. His best friend is the biggest and most oblivious, insensitive fool ever. He couldn't believe he's in love with this fool.

"She's not even surprised when I asked for the break-up. She said she suspected for a while now that my heart isn't fully with her. That it's with someone else. She's not even mad at me for breaking it off, just genuinely happy that I could be true to myself. I don't deserve her." Jun glances down at his hands and whispers, "Come to think of it, I don't think I deserve you too. I never said it before but thank you for loving me all these years, for being my friend no matter what."

"Jun." He reaches out to place his hands on top of his best friend's.

"Yeah?" Jun looks up.

"You are the most selfless, courageous and kind person I've ever known. You do deserve me." Minghao says quietly. "And I love you too." 

Jun's smile shines so brightly in the dark of the night. And like magic, Minghao's torn heart starts to mend itself. 

* * *

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Sunday, 12:17 ] 

**naegahosh** WEN JUNHUI

 **WOOZI** why are you being so loud for?

 **hannie** my head still hurts so stop screaming or i'll come over and kill you kwon

 **naegahosh** check his ig post, hyung  
 **naegahosh** then you can come and tell me whether i should be screaming or not

 **hannie** just a sec

[ Sunday, 12:21 ] 

**hannie** WEN JUNHUI

 **naegahosh** told ya

 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😚

 **hannie** this kid  
 **hannie** i swear i'm going to get out of my bed and come over and

 **cheolie** hannie, stop  
 **cheolie** jun, hao, congratulations. we're so happy for you

 **uriboo** what's happening?

 **dinoRAWR** why is it so noisy over here?

 **naegahosh** check jun's ig post  
 **naegahosh** EVERYONE PLEASE CHECK JUN'S IG RIGHT NOW

 **the8** okay hyung, please stop shouting into the gc  
 **the8** yes, jun and i got together last night. and yes, we're pretty much in love with each other but i bet you guys already know that  
 **the8** now can we all go back to chilling?

 **mingoo** congrats, guys!

 **wonWOO** FINALLY

 **seokkie** YEAH FINALLY, WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR FOREVER TO SEE YOU TWO TOGETHER. tbh, we're tired of the ust 😅😅

 **the8** 😑  
 **the8** i can say the same for you, ass

 **seokkie** yah, you bitch

 **hannie** ANYWAY, congrats!

 **shua** congratulations! 🙂

 **the8** thanks everyone!

 **thathandsomechinesedude** awwww, baby, you do love me 😩😩  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** EVERYONE GO AND SEE HAOHAO'S LATEST IG POST! he loves me, you guys 🥺🥺

 **the8** 😄 i do love you

 **thathandsomechinesedude** 🥺🥺

* * *

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Sunday, 12:33 ] 

**naegahosh** oh  
 **naegahosh** oh no  
 **naegahosh** are you guys going to be nauseating in this gc from now on?

 **WOOZI** do you even need to ask? when has jun ever stop?

 **hannie** i don't mind! my babies are happily in love! i'm so happy 🤗🤗

 **thathandsomechinesedude** soon, of course! i need to show my love and adoration for my baobei ALWAYS  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** ji, please perish  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** jeonghan-hyung, there's a reason why you're my favourite hyung

 **cheolie** we should celebrate!  
 **cheolie** should we meet at the cafe near campus to celebrate jun and minghao's new relationship?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** hyung 🥺🥺  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** and yes! haohao and me would be there!

 **naegahosh** oooooooohh, are you gonna start answering as a couple from now on? 🤭🤭  
 **naegahosh** and i'm in!

 **mingoo** we are in too! as in, ji-hyung and me!

 **uriboo** me three

 **shua** i'm ok

 **seokkie** me too

 **dinoRAWR** will you pay for me, hyung? i'm broke right now 😢😢

 **hannie** sure, channie. just come and cheol will foot the bill  
 **hannie** in fact, he will pay for everyone!

 **cheolie** how come?

 **hannie** because they're your kids. are you trying to be stingy? 😠

 **cheolie** no, babe  
 **cheolie** everyone, i guess it's my treat

 **hannie** 🤗🤗

 **wonWOO** i feel sorry for cheol-hyung  
 **wonWOO** but i'm just happy that jeonghan-hyung is happy, ya know?

 **naegahosh** same

* * *

**Delete Your Account**

Hi **notminghao** ,

We're sorry to hear you'd like to delete your account.

If you're just looking to take a break, you can always temporarily disable your Instagram account instead.

Would you like to proceed?

\----

Minghao pauses as his thumb hovers over the button. Should he do this?

It's hard to know whether he's making the right choice. It's like making a big decision when you're not sure what's right. On one hand, it feels like he's erasing a significant part of his life by doing so but on the other, it would mean leaving the past behind and moving on to the next phase of his life. This private account is created at a time when he needed to seek refuge from his overwhelming feelings for his best friend. It's like a silent friend and even though there's nobody there to speak to, he knows it would always listen. It's been a solace, a place to turn to when things get crazy. But it's different now. The one person he's been trying to run away from is now a haven for his heart and soul. The person whom he never thought would ever have feelings for him now loves him back.

Suddenly, he smiles.

He knows what his decision would be.

\----

** Account Deleted!  
**

Hi **notminghao** ,

Your account has been removed. We are sorry to see you go!

\----

“Bǎobèi, ready to go?”

Minghao looks up from his phone to see his _boyfriend_ leaning casually against the bedroom's doorway. It's crazy how he's now able to say that his best friend is his boyfriend too. Some days, he wakes up thinking that it's all just a beautiful but unreal dream. That he would go back to miserably pining over someone who's happier with someone else. But then Jun would turn around (it feels like his boyfriend has some sort of a sixth sense that would let him know whenever Minghao's awake) and flashes him one of his brightest smiles. And Minghao would instantly _know._ He knows that this man over here belongs to him at long last. “Sure, just give me another second.” He murmurs softly.

Jun nods. “I'll start the car.”

He's 22 (and this might sound so unbelievable to his 17-year-old self) when he finally gets what he has always been wishing for; Wen Junhui's infinite love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One down, two more to go, people! 🤗🤗 You know the drill, the next two chapters would be on seoksoo. It helps my life when they actually sing the duet together, you betcha I'm going to include 17 in their story. 😌😌


	11. come back come back come back come back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  guise - guys  
> bf - boyfriend  
> gc - groupchat
> 
> * **jisoo.hong** is Joshua's Instagram account.  
> ** **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations. It's not known by anyone at the moment.  
> 

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Monday, 11:33 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude**!!  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** guise, just know that if today is my last day on earth, i would die a VERY happy man

 **hannie** child, what's wrong? why are you taking about last days and whatnot?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😭😭  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** hyung, i'm just so happy

 **hannie** that's great, love but why

 **uriboo** hyung, u ok?

 **naegahosh** wen junhui, stop being melodramatic  
 **naegahosh** guys, ignore him. jun's just being sentimental because hao accidentally fell asleep on him during our break and he's been staring at his bf's sleeping face for the past twenty minutes like a creeper he is  
 **naegahosh** and yes, i timed it. don't ask my why, i must have been more bored than i first thought

 **dinoRAWR** we're supposed to resume our dance practice five minutes ago but jun-hyung refused to wake hao-hyung up  
 **dinoRAWR** 😟😟 so now we wait...for god knows when

 **thathandsomechinesedude** but BUT  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😩😩 he's so precious! my heart is so full just by looking at him. how can he be so adorable while sleeping? i just want to cuddle him all day long

 **hannie** d'awwwww

 **cheolie** that's sweet, jun

 **naegahosh** hyungdeul, please don't encourage him

 **thathandsomechinesedude** shut up, soon  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** everyone, just know that if anyone dares to hurt my haohao, i swear i'll hunt them down and beat them up! 😠😠 no one, and i mean NO ONE, will get away with hurting my baobei!

 **dinoRAWR** uhhh...

 **thathandsomechinesedude** and i'm looking at you wonwoo!

 **wonWOO** ME? what the hell did i do?!  
 **wonWOO** i just breathe, jun

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i don't know  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** i just feel that if there's anyone in this gc who might hurt him, you will be my prime suspect

 **wonWOO** do you know how ridiculous that sounds?  
 **wonWOO** i'm one of your best friends, jun

 **thathandsomechinesedude** THERE'S NO FRIENDSHIPS IN THE BATTLEFIELD OF LOVE!  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** i shall avenge the death of my beloved! 

**wonWOO** what the-  
 **wonWOO** minghao's not even dead?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** it's a hypothetical situation! I GOT MY EYES ON YOU, JEON WONWOO!

 **hannie** wow, that escalated quickly

 **wonWOO** ...

[ Monday, 11:43 ] 

**dinoRAWR** an update  
 **dinoRAWR** soonyoung-hyung just confiscated jun-hyung's phone and he couldn't do anything about it since hao-hyung has rendered him immobile and he really doesn't want to wake him up  
 **dinoRAWR** i've to applaud him for his commitment to the cause though. get you a bf like wen junhui 😂😂

 **wonWOO** soonyoung is doing the lord's work, bless him

**BOO &SOON **  
_\- naegahosh, uriboo -_  
[ Monday, 11:53 ] 

**uriboo** ??  
  
**naegahosh** ????

 **uriboo** who's that guy?  
  
**naegahosh** who?

 **uriboo** go and check shua-hyung's ig post

[ Monday, 11:59 ] 

**naegahosh** oh shit

 **uriboo** why hyung?

 **naegahosh** jeonghan-hyung said he's just a friend of shua-hyung. he's there at the party that day, remember? i'm not sure how close they are but this doesn't look good  
 **naegahosh** thank god min doesn't have ig account. at least he won't see this

 **uriboo** uhm  
 **uriboo** about that...

 **naegahosh** what

 **uriboo** he already saw it 😔😔  
 **uriboo** i asked him first before i asked you

 **naegahosh** damn and what did he say?

 **uriboo** nothing? he just shrugged and went back to his room

 **naegahosh** oh

 **uriboo** i messed up, didn't i?

 **naegahosh** no, you didn't. it's just a sensitive period for him right now  
 **naegahosh** can you make sure he's not alone today? i'll be back home right after this lecture

 **uriboo** sure, i've nothing on today. we will watch netflix or something

 **naegahosh** thanks kwan

* * *

* * *

**my sunshine**  
 _\- shua, seokkie -_  
[ Thursday, 23:23 ] 

**seokkie** come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back come back

 **shua** seok?  
 **shua** what's wrong?

[ Thursday, 23:35 ] 

**shua** baby, you there?

[ Thursday, 23:44 ] 

**shua** love?

**soonyoung**  
 _\- shua, naegahosh -_  
[ Thursday, 23:46 ] 

**shua** hey soonyoung, quick question. are you with seokmin right now?

 **naegahosh** hi hyung!  
 **naegahosh** min? he's not with me. i'm with hoonie at his studio. why, is something wrong?

 **shua** i'm not really sure. seokmin just texted me something weird

 **naegahosh** weird how?

 **shua** he sent me a paragraph filled with the words 'come back' in continuous loops. i'm worried. he blocked my number for three weeks and suddenly, this is the first message i got?

 **naegahosh** dammit

 **shua** what's wrong

 **naegahosh** he's not answering my call

 **shua** do you know where he is?

 **naegahosh** i checked his phone's location, he's still at home  
 **naegahosh** hyung, can you do me a favour and check on him? i would have done it myself but hoonie's studio is all the way across town so it might take a while for me to reach home and seungkwan is at the training camp for his vocal club. there's no one else who can help and i know jeonghan-hyung's apartment is just a ten-minutes drive from ours

 **shua** say no more, i'm on my way out

 **naegahosh** thanks hyung, you're a lifesaver

 **shua** but uh, what's your apartment's code by the way? just in case, he's not answering

 **naegahosh** 221196

 **shua** ok  
 **shua** wait, that looks like—

 **naegahosh** yes it is  
 **naegahosh** hyung, i would appreciate it if you don't ask

 **shua** alright  
 **shua** but soon-ah, take it from someone who knows, it's not good holding back how you feel. if you love someone, tell them

 **naegahosh** hyung, it's not that easy

 **shua** maybe jihoon feels the same way as you do, have you ever thought about that?

 **naegahosh** he has a boyfriend. if he feels the same way as i do, he wouldn't be in a relationship with someone else

 **shua** sometimes, people make dumb mistakes

 **naegahosh** just like you did?

 **shua** yeah, just like i did

 **naegahosh** i'll think about it  
 **naegahosh** hyung, keep me updated on seokmin's condition, ya?

 **shua** i will, i'm reaching in 6 mins

 **naegahosh** thanks hyung for doing this

 **shua** don't mention it  
 **shua** seokmin is my precious someone, it's only right that i go to him when he needs me. i don't mind doing this

 **naegahosh** hyung, you're making it hard for me to decide whether i should keep you away from my best friend or help you get back together with him  
 **naegahosh** 😪😪

 **shua** i'm sorry  
 **shua** trust me when i say that i'm trying very hard to make it right

 **naegahosh** i know 😪😪  
 **naegahosh** that's the only reason why i'm letting you check on him tonight  
 **naegahosh** i lied to you earlier you know. minghao's apartment is the same distance away as jeonghan-hyung's. i'm sure he won't mind coming over to check on min if i asked. i know for a fact that he's staying in to study for his test on monday

 **shua** yeah, i know

 **naegahosh** hmm

 **shua** thanks soonyoung

 **naegahosh** don't make me regret doing this

 **shua** i won't, i swear it

 **naegahosh** ok, keep me updated

 **shua** will do

Jisoo presses the doorbell and waits. 

When another minute passes with no one in sight to greet him, he repeats the motion. And waits some more. When he realizes that no one is coming to answer the door anytime soon, he keys in the passcode Soonyoung has given him earlier into the keypad and the door willingly swings open to admit him in. Nothing but silence envelops him. The standing lamp is the only source of light that brightens the entire living room. The silence unnerves him as he walks deeper into the apartment. Nothing much has changed, not that he expects it to, considering his last visit is only three weeks ago. When he reaches the front of Seokmin’s room, he briefly taps on the door before pushing it open. 

There’s a lump lying in the middle of the bed, covered with a blanket. The glow-in-the-dark stars that decorate the four walls illuminate the bedroom as he pads over to the bed. “Seok?” He whispers.

The lump doesn’t move or react in any way whatsoever. 

Seokmin’s back is facing him, making it impossible for him to know if he’s awake or otherwise. He gives in to temptation and reaches out to lightly caresses Seokmin’s auburn hair. It’s like a reflex. He always has this overwhelming feeling to touch whichever part of Seokmin that he could reach whenever the other man is near. Jisoo's heart misses him, desperately so. 

“Baby, are you awake?” He tries again but there's silence still.

He climbs onto the bed, wanting to check to see if the other man is really sleeping or faking it but—

“Hyung.” And there it is, Seokmin’s muffled voice meets him at long last but he doesn't turn to look at Jisoo.

Jisoo answers instantly. “Hyung's here. What do you need?” _I promise I'll give you everything that I've. And more._

“Can you hold me?” Seokmin continues. “Please.”

Because he's a weak, weak man when it comes to Lee Seokmin, Jisoo immediately slips into bed with him. Wordlessly, he wraps his arms around Seokmin, pulling him softly towards him so that his back meets Jisoo's chest. He presses a gentle kiss against Seokmin's temple, breathing in the beautiful scent of his love. Somehow, his eyes turn misty while he does so. _Home._ It feels like coming home. It feels like coming back to where he belongs. “Are you okay, baby?”

“I will be.” Seokmin murmurs. “Don't leave.”

“I won't.”

“Stay.”

“Okay.”

And the night ends with the way it should be.

_His Seokmin in his arms._

**soonyoung**  
 _\- shua, naegahosh -_  
[ Thursday, 00:11 ] 

**shua** seok's okay. i'm staying over, i hope you don't mind

 **naegahosh** thank god  
 **naegahosh** and i don't mind, it's good to know he won't be alone tonight

 **shua** thanks  
 **shua** goodnight, don't stay up too late

 **naegahosh** goodnight, hyung

Soonyoung sighs softly.

He wonders if it's wise to let Shua-hyung be this close to his friend. It's clear as day that Seokmin is still suffering from past hurts and is adamant in steering clear of his ex-lover. But Soonyoung also knows that maintaining this silent treatment is not the way to go. They need to talk it out. They need to come clean with each other and understand how it's not too late to start over. That it's never too late to start afresh and—

“Is Seokmin okay?” Jihoon interrupts his thoughts.

“Yeah, Shua-hyung is with him.”

Jihoon nods. “I'm glad.”

The truth is, he's jealous of his friend. Of Minghao. Because he knows at the end of the day, no matter what challenges they'd faced to come this far, it has never been a one-sided affair. Shua-hyung and Jun loves them equally as much, if not more. It's only him who has to deal with the pain of loving someone who could never love him back.

Unrequited love is really a bitch.

* * *

* * *

**[unknown]**  
 _\- unknown, uriboo -_  
[ Monday, 9:17 ] 

**unknown** hey!

[The sender is not in your contact list. Report Junk] 

**uriboo** who’s this? 

**unknown** it's hansol  
 **unknown** we met at vocal camp last week?

 **uriboo** how did you get my number?

 **unknown** yunho-hyung gave it to me

 **uriboo** what do you want?

 **unknown** do you want to meet up somewhere near campus to brainstorm together? i've a rough idea on what we could do for the talent show

 **uriboo** no thanks  
 **uriboo** i don't think we would be partners for long. i've submitted a request to change partners for the show

 **unknown** did i do something to offend you? if so, i'm sorry

 **uriboo** i don't really want to talk about it

 **unknown** ok, so you won't tell me why you're brushing me off like this?

 **uriboo** look, this is more than just you and me  
 **uriboo** so just leave it, alright?

 **unknown** yeah i get it  
 **unknown** it's been nice knowing you, boo seungkwan, i guess i will not be seeing you around then

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **note:** Yunho is the President of the Vocal Club
> 
> It's funny how my head is filled with junhao last week and seoksoo in this week. I can't say I'm mad about it but damn, it felt like it's been ages since I touched on something soonhoon.


	12. you, always

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  Kongnamul Guk - Bean Sprout Soup  
> gtg - got to go  
> ttyl - talk to you later  
> btw - by the way
> 
> * **jisoo.hong** is Joshua's Instagram account.  
> ** **his.jisoo** is Joshua's private Instagram account.

**SPOTIFY | Now Playing: All You Had To Do Was Stay by Taylor Swift**   
_Here you are now, calling me up, but I don't know what to say. I've been picking up the pieces of the mess you made._   
_All you had to do was stay, had me in the palm of your hand. Why'd you had to go?_

Seokmin wakes up to the morning sun. He grimaces when the strong rays shine directly onto his face. He shies away from the window by turning sideways and burrows deeper into his pillow. Just when he's about to fall back to sleep, a passing thought jars him awake. 

_Jisoo._

His hands instinctively reach out to the other side of the bed, heart sinking when he finds it cold and empty. He forces himself to sit up straight, looking around the bedroom with bleary eyes. It's empty, with no one else in sight. _Oh,_ so Jisoo's gone then.

“Fucking hell.” He curses, willing himself not to cry. What the hell did he expect would happen? That Jisoo would magically forget the fact that he has ghosted him for three straight weeks? They are not lovers anymore, did he honestly think the other man would be willing to stay the night just because Seokmin asked him to? Did he really think it would be that easy? Goodness gracious, he's so fucking naive sometimes. When will he ever learn? When will he stop being gullible when it comes to—

“You're awake.”

A familiar voice interrupts his dark thoughts as he quickly looks up. Like a dream, Hong Jisoo appears by the door in all his glory.

“Hyung-g?” Seokmin croaks, not really believing he's here. _He's here, he didn't leave,_ his heart leaps in unbridled joy.

Jisoo's soft smile quickly turns into a concerned frown when he sees the heartbreak and desolation on Seokmin's face. He walks over to Seokmin with a worried look. "What's wrong, Seok? Do you feel sick? Do you need to go to the doctor?" Jisoo says as he touches Seokmin's cheeks with both hands, unintentionally squishing them together.

Suddenly, it all seems too much for him as the first tear falls. "I thought you're gone." _I thought you left me again._

"Baby, how can I leave you?" Jisoo whispers, using his thumb to lovingly wipe Seokmin's tear away. "I promised you that I'll stay, remember?"

 _But you lied to me before,_ his heart says.

And because Jisoo is Jisoo, he understands the gravity of the unspoken words anyway. "What can I do to make you feel better?" He says.

"Hold me." He simply answers. _Hold me tight and promise me this time that you'll never let go._

"Of course, baby."

* * *

"Do you remember how we first met?" Seokmin asks out of the blue.

They're cuddling in bed. Seokmin's head is resting comfortably on Jisoo's chest as the older man holds him in a loose embrace.

"Of course. How can I forget?" Jisoo snorts. "You accused me of stealing your seat on the bus and even said, and I quote, 'Get up right now or I'll just sit on you', unquote."

His cheeks flush from the fond but embarrassing memory. "Everyone was staring at us as if they expected you to punch me or something."

Jisoo chuckles. "Well, you're very _adamant_ in getting that seat and refused to listen to reason."

"Why did you give in to me? I was pretty unreasonable back then."

"Because I thought the boy who's been shouting at me for the past minute or so was damn cute and I really, really wanted his number. Giving up the seat for a possibility of getting your number seemed too good an opportunity to pass up." Jisoo murmurs. "Of course, you're too annoyed at me to even think of giving me a smile, let alone your number so I was only able to sneak glances at you in silence until I reached my stop. I don't mind, it's a good day either way. I get to see _my sunshine_ for the first time."

Seokmin slaps Jisoo's chest in embarrassment. "You're hopeless."

"Only when it comes to you."

"Jisoo-ah..." Seokmin starts.

"Yeah?"

The unanswered questions weigh heavily on his mind. _Why did you leave? Why didn't you stay? You know how much I love you, all you had to do was stay. So why?_ But all that comes out is, "Can you cook me breakfast?"

Jisoo laughs. "Sure. What would you like?"

 _You, always._ "A bowl of kongnamul-guk would be nice."

"Okay, anything for my sunshine."

* * *

* * *

**LA rocketeers**   
_\- shua, chwenotchew -_  
[ Friday, 9:23 ] 

**chwenotchew** hyung, i'll be coming home late tonight. don't wait up 

**shua** busy day? 

**chwenotchew** kinda   
**chwenotchew** i gotta deal with this issue 

**shua** what issue? do you need help? 

**chwenotchew** nah, it's nothing i can't handle   
**chwenotchew** someone has a beef with me and i need to discuss about it with our club leader 

**shua** vernon, what did i say about playing nice?

 **chwenotchew** believe me, hyung, i really tried to but this kid is so intent on hating me that i couldn't do or say anything to make him change his mind. and the best thing is, i don't even know him!  
 **chwenotchew** i don't know why he hates me so much

 **shua** that sounds unfair, who is he? maybe i'll ask jeonghan, see if he knows the kid or something

 **chwenotchew** his name is

 **shua** ??

 **chwenotchew** hyung, i gtg! he's here  
 **chwenotchew** is it bad that i think he's cute when he's angry? **  
**

****shua** 😲**

**chwenotchew** yeah i thought so too  
 **chwenotchew** bye hyung, ttyl

 **shua** holler if you need help  
 **shua** and by help, i mean flirting. cause you're so bad at it

 **chwenotchew** hyunggggg, when will you let me live?!

 **shua** never  
 **shua** take care and i love you! 😘😘

 **chwenotchew** i love you too, hyung 😪😪

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**  
 _\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_  
[ Friday, 10:13 ] 

  
**uriboo** OMG, this guy is really pissing me off!  
 **uriboo** 😡😡  
  
**seokkie** why boo?

 **uriboo** i got assigned a partner for the talent show and I. Really. Don't. Like. Him.  
 **uriboo** 😡😡

 **naegahosh** what did he do?

 **uriboo** well, to start it off, he's a rapper! A RAPPER!  
 **uriboo** we don't match well

 **naegahosh** well, did you talk to yunho-hyung about the possibility of changing partners?

 **uriboo** I DID!  
 **uriboo** 😤😤 but i was told that the decisions made about the teams are final and he won't allow a change unless there's a good reason why. and apparently, me not liking my partner on first sight is NOT a good enough reason. i object to that, btw

 **seokkie** take it positively, kwan. maybe you guys could try something completely new? it sounds like it could be an exciting collaboration

 **uriboo** but the issue is he keeps flirting with me every little chance he has!  
 **uriboo** i don't like it 😤😤

 **naegahosh** 😂😂 he has a crush on you?

 **uriboo** i don't know and i don't CARE to know  
 **uriboo** guys, do you think it's too late to back off now?

 **seokkie** hey come on, kwan, don't do that. i know how much you're looking forward to the talent show  
 **seokkie** are you going to let one guy get in the way of that?

 **naegahosh** maybe tell him nicely to back-off because you're not interested?

 **seokkie** yeah! be firm but polite 👍

 **uriboo** i don't know...i'll think about it 😓😓

 **naegahosh** you can do it, boo! good luck!

 **seokkie** fighting!

**jeonghan hyung’s PABO**  
 _\- hannie, seokkie -_  
[ Friday, 11:15 ] 

**seokkie** hyung

 **hannie** what can i do for you, my summer child? 😊

 **seokkie** do you think a person deserves a second chance?

 **hannie** whoa, that's a loaded question  
 **hannie** let me ask you this then, do you think shua deserves a second chance?

 **seokkie** i didn't say it's about him

 **hannie** and i must say i'm not stupid

 **seokkie** hyung

 **hannie** okay okay! well, to be honest, it really depends

 **seokkie** on?

 **hannie** do you think you can find it in you to trust him again? no relationships can survive without trust, no matter how much you're in love with each other. and even if you do still love and trust him, it's going to be really, really tough. you've been apart from shua for so many years. i'm sure there are so many things that have changed between the both of you. he might not be the same man you used to know. can you accept 'the jisoo' that he is right now? if he stumbles along the way, would you have the strength and patience to help him up? would he if it's vice versa? if he falters or gives up, would you stand your ground and persuade him to continue walking? like i said, it's going to be tough and you'll have to work at it every single day. because i've to say, as much as i love to see the both of you back together, if you're not sure about any of this, i think it's better to walk away.

 **seokkie** wow

 **hannie** yup

 **seokkie** it seems like you've thought about this a whole lot

 **hannie** well, let's just say you're not the first person to ask me a similar question

 **seokkie** yeah, i won't even bother to ask who that person is

 **hannie** seok, do you need me to come over?

 **seokkie** no, i—  
 **seokkie** i think i need to think about it. thanks hyung

 **hannie** you're welcome, darling. i love you

 **seokkie** i love you too

* * *

**SPOTIFY | Now Playing: Don’t Wanna Cry by Seventeen**   
_Leaving me, who cherished only you, where did you go? Did you go far away because you didn’t like me any more?_   
_Come back, come back, come back. How can I live as one when half of me is gone?_

**(2013)**

Jisoo was not picking up any of his gazillion calls or acknowledging his many texts.

He's getting pretty worried. It was not like his boyfriend—wait, no, it's fiancé now—to leave him hanging without a rhyme or reason. Did something untoward happen? Was that why he's not answering? Was he okay? Should he be calling the ambulance or fire station or, shit, he didn't even know where Jisoo was right now. He's dashing back to their shared apartment, in hope that Jisoo's right there. That he would be sleeping peacefully in bed and when he woke him up gently, Jisoo would apologize profusely for oversleeping and missing out on their movie date. The taxi stopped right by his apartment. He exited the vehicle after paying the driver hastily. He didn't even wait for the lift as he climbed the stairs to the fourth level and marched over to their apartment.

"JISOO! Are you here?" Seokmin shouted once he's in. He's hopping on one leg while he tried his best to take off his shoes. "Hyung? Please tell me you're here!"

But only silence greeted him like an old friend. Shoes off now, he ran over to their bedroom. Noting that the living room and kitchen were exactly in the same condition as he left them this morning, he peeked into the room and found it void of any human presence. After combing through the entire apartment twice, he fell back on his back-up plan. Dialing up his fiancé's best friend, he waited impatiently for the person on the other line to pick up.

"Hey." Yoon Jeonghan greeted him.

"Jeonghan-hyung, do you know where Jisoo is? I've been trying to call him but he's not picking up. He missed our movie date..." Seokmin said in a rush as he strode over to the living room, anxiety hitting him like a ton of bricks.

Jeonghan's voice crackled over the line. "Seok, listen, uh—"

But Seokmin was not really listening. If he was, he could hear the obvious tension evident in Jeonghan's voice. "He's with you, isn't he? Can you please tell him to call me right now? I'm not even mad that he missed our date. I just want to know that he's alright. Anyway—"

"SEOK, CALM THE FUCK DOWN!" Jeonghan's screech came a moment later and it brought him to a complete pause.

"Hyung?"

But something glinted and he turned towards it. His heart thundered when he realized what it was. Walking over to the scene of the crime, his fingers reached out to grab the small piece of metal. "Hyung, why did Jisoo left his engagement band on our dining table?" He asked quietly.

"Listen, Seok..."

"Tell me _right now_ where the hell is he?"

"He's not here." Jeonghan answered. "As in, he's not even in the country anymore. He left for LA. He wants me to tell you how sorry he is. That—"

The rest of Jeonghan's response fell on deaf ears as he tried to come to terms with the truth. _What. The. Fuck._ Jisoo left? His fiancé had left for another country without letting him know? Without a word of goodbye? But why? Did he do something wrong? They'd already paid for the down-payment of this apartment. This was supposed to be their shelter throughout their university years. Why did he leave? Did Jisoo not love him anymore? Was that it? Was that why he's standing alone in the place that's meant to be their haven?

* * *

**my sunshine**  
 _\- shua, seokkie -_  
[ Sunday, 10:23 ] 

**seokkie** hyung

 **shua** yeah?

 **seokkie** will you ever tell me why you left? i tried and tried to get over it but

 **shua** would you like to come over? han and cheol are not in

 **seokkie** ok

The walk to Jeonghan-hyung's apartment is cold and tedious, making him feel utterly miserable. If not for Jisoo, Seokmin doesn't think he would bother to walk this far out under the wintry November's weather. Sighing, he continues his journey until he sees a familiar building complex. Distractedly, he wonders if tonight's meet-up would solve every burning question that he ever has or end the relationship he tries so hard to fix. He _really_ hopes it's the latter. Just when he's about to head over to the lobby, he sees a familiar figure not far from where he is.

And he's not alone.

"Hyung?"

Jisoo turns to him with a sad frown while holding someone else in his arms. Someone who's clearly not him.

Seokmin does the only thing that makes the most sense to him at that point of time; he runs away.

* * *

* * *

**SPOTIFY | Now Playing: I Don't Wanna Love You Anymore by LANY**   
_I can't forget, the way it felt, when you walked out the door, so I don't wanna love you anymore._   
_The only way to get past this feeling is to tell myself you're not coming back._

Time seems to stop for Seokmin but the pain does not. He can't breathe. He barely understands where he's going but he needs to get away, _needs_ to—

Someone pulls at his arm, hard enough to halt his movement as the one and only person he doesn't really want to see right now comes into view.

"Seok, it's not what you think! We're just—" Jisoo says.

"Hyung." He whispers. "Please let go." He motions to his arm that's being held tightly by the other man.

"Baby, it's just a misunderstanding. Please don't leave like this." Jisoo pleads.

But Seokmin shakes his head. "If you really love me, then you will let me go right now."

He doesn't know whether he should feel relieved or not when Jisoo grants him his wish and lets him go. Freed, he turns away and resumes his walk back home. His broken heart beats dully in his chest. Oh God, what should he do with this broken heart? It really hurts to feel. He just wants this pain to stop. Loving Jisoo always hurts so fucking much.

**my sunshine**  
 _\- shua, seokkie -_  
[ Sunday, 11:55 ] 

**shua** i love you i love you i love you i love you i love you i love you   
**shua** please believe me

[ Sunday, 11:57 ] 

**shua** even if i'm reborn into another life, i'll still feel the same way about you. even if we're separated, even if you don't know me, i'll find you and tell you how much you mean to me  
 **shua** because i fucking love you

[ Sunday, 00:11 ] 

**shua** so please please please  
 **shua** don't give me up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as i suspected, imma need another chapter to conclude their story, mian 😩😩


	13. when we're 92, the same as 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  boyfie - boyfriend  
> ilu - i love you  
> Pabo - fool  
>   
> * **jisoo.hong** is Joshua's Instagram account.  
> ** **his.jisoo** is Joshua's private Instagram account.  
> *** **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account.  
> ****Chapter title and line excerpts from the Instagram post are from Pink Sweat$'s 17.

**that boy i ❤️ (and he loves me back!)**  
 _\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Thursday, 9:11 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** hey, babe?

 **the8** yes, boyfie?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** gyahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😩😩

 **the8** ??!

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i can never get used to hearing you say that i'm your boyfriend 🥺🥺  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** can you believe it?! you're my boyfieeeee 😌😌

 **the8** yes i can  
 **the8** cause you're mine and i love you

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i love you too 🥺🥺  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** anyway, i just want to let you know that i truly do love you and i would DIE FOR YOU and i would do anything for you

 **the8** anything at all?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** YES, ANYTHING!

 **the8** cool  
 **the8** i'll remember that

 **thathandsomechinesedude** somehow, i don't like the sound of that. do you have some nefarious plot in mind? babe, ilu but please don't try to take over the world. i don't want to have to visit my boyfriend in jail

 **the8** 😊😊

 **thathandsomechinesedude** babe?

[ Thursday, 9:21 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** babeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[ Thursday, 9:25 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** you're lucky that i love you

 **the8** i know 😊😊  
 **the8** have a good day on campus, boyfie ❤️❤️

 **thathandsomechinesedude** haohaoooooo!!!!!!!! 😩😩😩😩  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** you too, babe

**SPEAK, your yoda-han is here**  
 _\- shua, hannie, seokkie -_  
[ Thursday, 9:43 ] 

**hannie** speak

 **shua** han, please don't interfere

 **hannie** no, i really think i should. i've enough of seeing the two of you mooning over each other when it's clear that no one has fallen out of love  
 **hannie** so speak

 **seokkie** it's nothing

 **shua** seok  
 **shua** it's not nothing

 **seokkie** yes it is

 **shua** no it's not

 **hannie** okay stop, it's painful for me to read this  
 **hannie** the both of you are talking like you're in kindergarten or something

 **shua** what do you want from us, han?

 **seokkie** i know what i want from you  
 **seokkie** to stop lying and tell me the damn truth

 **shua** that's not fair

 **seokkie** why not? you're a liar who lies. you keep saying i'm the only one you love but that's fake!

 **shua** i told you  
 **shua** hansol is not who you think he is

 **seokkie** tough luck, i don't believe you

 **hannie** STOP, JUST STOP OKAY  
 **hannie** shua, man up and tell him the truth. it's about time he knows  
 **hannie** and seok, my best friend fucked up okay. he messed up really, really, REALLY bad. i'm not going to excuse what he did to you because it's clear that he's in the wrong. but believe me, if he could take all the the pain away from you by walking through a haystack full of needles, he will do it. that's how far gone he still is over you. so please, the both of you need to work it out or else, i don't know how you can even be friends anymore

 **seokkie** hyung, remember when i spent the whole night crying on your shoulder because my fiancé left me without a word and you swore you'll do anything in your power to make it better? to make it okay?

 **hannie** seok...

 **seokkie** please don't ask me to talk to him

 **hannie** ok  
 **hannie** ok, i won't

Jisoo stares quietly at Seokmin's last message as tears start to blur his vision. There's a soft knock at the door before it swings open to reveal his best friend.

"Shua." Jeonghan says sadly as he slowly approaches his friend's bed.

"Well, I guess this is it, huh?" He breathes out slowly. "It's really _over_ between us."

Jeonghan gathers him in a hug. "I'm so sorry." His friend whispers. "I'm so sorry it didn't work out."

The pain is immeasurable.

For the longest time, the memories of Seokmin are enough to keep the dark and lonely thoughts at bay. It's the only thing that kept him him sane when he's in LA. "Me too." This is not fair. It's not supposed to be like this. They are not supposed to end like this.

But the cold, hard fact remains. Now, they're broken forever and there's no way to mend it.

* * *

* * *

**jeonghan hyung’s cub**  
 _\- naegahosh, hannie -_  
[ Tuesday, 10:53 ] 

**hannie** soonie, is seokmin home?  


**naegahosh** yeah, why hyung  


**hannie** do you trust me?  


**naegahosh** of course. why you ask  


**hannie** i would like him to meet someone  


**naegahosh** hyung, does this has anything to do with shua-hyung? min already makes it perfectly clear where he stands in all of this. he doesn't want to try anymore, hyung  


**hannie** trust me  
 **hannie** it'll be all good in the end  


**naegahosh** hyung

**hannie** soonie

**naegahosh** if it's all goes south, i'm taking you down with me  


**hannie** and i'll gladly go down with you  
 **hannie** soonie, i've to try. i cannot let them end it like this  
 **hannie** do you understand?

 **naegahosh** yeah i do  
 **naegahosh** 😪😪 fine

**BOO to the SEOK to the SOON**   
_\- naegahosh, seokkie, uriboo -_   
[ Tuesday, 11:12 ] 

**naegahosh** hey min, can you open the door right now? i uh, forget to bring my keys

 **seokkie** 😑😑  
 **seokkie** really, hyung? why do you keep forgetting to bring along your keys?!

 **naegahosh** i'm so sorryyyyyy 😭😭  
 **naegahosh** i promise i won't forget next time! 😥😥

 **seokkie** you better  
 **seokkie** give me a second

Seokmin groans as he gets up from the couch and heads over to the door. It really annoys him to no end that his hyung keeps on forgetting to bring along his own set of keys whenever he heads out. He's such a blunder-head sometimes. It's a good thing that he loves his tiger-hyung so much or else, Seokmin would be content to let the other man freezes out in the cold. Sighing, he opens the door and whines, "Hyung, you should really remember to—" He abruptly stops when he realizes it's not his hyung who's at the door. It's someone who he would never have expected. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"It's time we talk." Chwe Hansol says with a determined look on his face.

Oh hell, what now?

* * *

**SPOTIFY | Now Playing: This Love by Taylor Swift**   
_These hands had to let it go free,_   
_And this love came back to me._

Seokmin runs.

He runs as fast and hard as his legs could carry him.

In fact, he runs as if the world is running out of time and this is the only sprint he could ever hope to achieve in this lifetime. Tears are streaming down his cheeks but he couldn't bring himself to care. He's been so wrong. So, so fucking wrong about everything. He has always thought Jisoo's departure from his life was due to the older man's dwindling feelings for him. _But it's not._ It's fucking not. How could he have been so blind? Was he so hurt by past memories that he would rather believe the demons in his head than to give Jisoo an opportunity to tell his side of the story?

Stupid, stupid him.

_I lost my family seven years ago to a drunk driver._

_It was a freak car accident. My father had done everything right; waited for the traffic light to turn green, double-checked his blind spots and only then started driving. But it didn't matter in the end. The other car was going at 60 mph, the driver was too drunk to stop the collusion from happening as it smashed right into ours._ _In a single night, everyone who mattered to me was gone, just like that. I was the only one to survive. The only one to—  
_

 _Anyway, long story short, I became an orphan at 13. The foster services told me that I was too old to be adopted but too young to be left alone. I'm not going to lie, it's a dark time for me. Having to deal with physical therapy and emotional duress at the same time. And then, one day, when the social workers were supposed to come for me, I ran away. Or rather, I hobbled away. I didn't stop till I reached the next town over. It's only then that I called Josh-hyung through a public payphone. I didn't think I made much sense then because I remembered crying so much but he understood me anyway. He knew I needed him._ _Our mothers were best friends since they're kids so our friendship's tight._

 _He told me to stay put and promise to take the next flight out to get to me. He didn't even ask me why I ran away from the social workers, why I was dumb enough to leave when I'm just a kid. He didn't scold me like those adults at the foster services did when they're frustrated with me. All I knew was I was alone in one moment and not in the next._ _The first thing he did when he saw me was to give me a big hug and told me everything's going to be okay._ _And I cannot tell you how much I needed to hear that, you know? I didn't know until I was in his arms, crying like a fucking baby. It's the saddest, most difficult period of my life but having hyung there really helped me a lot. We made our way to his childhood home. The next thing I knew, his parents filed for adoption and that was that._

_I thought after everything had settled down, hyung would leave and go back to South Korea. I knew he'd a life here. It would be crazy to leave it all behind just to take care of a kid he used to be close with once upon a time but not anymore. I mean, hell, he's barely 18 then. Just a kid like myself. But he told me that he's staying till I graduated high school. And I couldn't tell you how grateful and comforted I was to hear that. I think he knew it too. That I needed him to stay.  
_

_Fast forward a few years later, a day after my Graduation Day, he told me that he'd to go back. That there's someone special he'd left behind when he came for me and he needed to get him back. I didn't know who it was, didn't know he'd a boyfriend. He never really talked to me about his life back in Seoul. I think it pained him to even think about it. So I told him, if he's going back, then I'm going too. I'm not going anywhere without my hyung. He's been there for me all this time so it's only right for me to be there for him too._

_The reason why I'm telling you all of this was because I wanted you to know that he didn't leave you because he wanted to. He did it because he had to. For me. I hope you won't punish him for that. It's not fair. Hyung has been through a lot these past years. I just wished he could find a way to be happy. I know you can give him that. So yeah, uhm, hope this would help you to understand him better. About why he left and everything._

When he reaches Jeonghan-hyung's apartment, he presses the doorbell in quick succession.

"Seok? Why are you here?" Jisoo says when he answers the door, surprise in his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Seokmin cries. "Why didn't you tell the real reason why you left for LA? _Pabo_ , did you think that I wouldn't understand? Was your opinion of me really that low, hyung?"

Understanding dawns on him as Jisoo shifts on his feet, frowning. "Who told you? Han? Cheol?"

Seokmin shakes his head. "Hansol did."

At that, Jisoo lets out a big sigh. "That kid. I told him not to meddle." He then motions for Seokmin to enter the apartment. "Come on. Han and Cheol are out on a date, we have the apartment to ourselves."

* * *

"I love you a lot. I still do." Jisoo says as the both of them settles down on the couch. "When I got that call from Hansol, all I could think about was you. I know that if I asked, you would not hesitate to follow me anywhere because your love for me was just that great. But that's not fair for you. It's not fair to ask you to uproot your entire life just to fly to LA with me. Hansol's my responsibility, not yours. Your life, your friends, your family—they're all here. You _belong_ here. I refused to be selfish so I decided to go alone. But I was too much of a coward back then to break up with you. Even though I know I should, I can't even look you straight in the eye and tell you that I'd to leave. I took the easy way out by asking Jeonghan to do it for me." He said with a brittle smile. "It was the biggest mistake I ever made. I ended up hurting you a lot more because of it and I wanted to apologize for that. You deserve so much more than a half-assed note. You deserve better than me."

"Hyung, no—"

" _Don't._ Please don't defend my actions, Seok-ah. I know what I did then wasn't right. And I made it worse when I'd the audacity to barge into your life once again, demanding that I fit right back in as though it wasn't my fault that I left in the first place." Jisoo sighs. "I've been reflecting on my actions these past days and I realize something. I keep hurting you, baby. No matter what I did, I hurt you over and over again. And...I know you come here tonight thinking that we should get back together but I don't want that for us."

"Hyung?"

"Don't get me wrong, baby. I still want to marry you, to spend our golden years together. Trust me, you are all I ever want. I don't think I can love anyone else as much as I do you." Jisoo says. "But I want a chance to make up for the past hurts and mistakes. I want to deserve you. So Lee Seokmin, while I don't think we can start over from the very beginning, will you be my friend?"

Seokmin stares at the outreached hand and then back to Jisoo's face. This is not what he wants. He doesn't want to start over, he doesn't want to—

But then he stops. Jeonghan-hyung once said that starting over is a gift, that it shouldn't be squandered just because you want to rush to the finish line. That sometimes, slow and steady wins the race. "Yeah, okay." He murmurs after a while as he returns the handshake with a small smile. "I am glad to have you as a friend, hyung."

* * *

* * *

**SPOTIFY | Now Playing: 17 by Pink Sweat$ ft Joshua and DK**   
_I won't let go of this hand, stay forever beside me just like now,_   
_When we're ninety-two, the same as seventeen._

**(4 MONTHS LATER)**

"A bus stand? Hyung, you brought me out on my only free day of the week to go to a bus stand? If I want to see one, I could just walk down the street and see it." Seokmin whines.

It's hard not to feel grumpy when it's a hot day out. Also, he's hoping Jisoo would bring him to somewhere romantic such as Han River or the park for a 'friendly-but-not-a-date' date. Not this non-scenic location. 

"It's not just any bus stand, Seok-ah. It's _the_ bus stand. It's the one you and I were on while waiting for the bus to come on the first day we met, remember? The one that triggered everything else." Jisoo grins. "See, the reason why I'm here is because I want to do _this_."

And then Jisoo falls on bended knee and looks up at him while holding out something shiny. What the fuck...?

"Hyung, what are you doing?"

"I love you since the day I met you. You're my sunshine, my reason to smile on a rainy day. You make me happy whenever you're with me. There's not enough words in the entire world to explain how much I love you. Baby, will you do me the honour of being my boyfriend?"

Seokmin leans forward and sees a silver band, a _promise_ ring. The ones they shed seven years ago when they exchanged them with engagement rings. "How did you get your hands on that?"

A shrug. "I'd my ways. So baby, will you?"

His answer is a simple kiss on his _boyfriend's_ lips.

* * *

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR -_  
[ Saturday, 14:41 ] 

[ chwenotchew is added to the chat! ] 

**uriboo** everyone, meet my boyfriend  
 **uriboo** chwe hansol

 **chwenotchew** hi

 **seokkie** what

 **shua** what

 **naegahosh** what

 **hannie** what

 **uriboo** 😶😶  
 **uriboo** please stop

 **naegahosh** aren't you the one who said you don't like him?

 **chwenotchew** awwww boo, you told everyone? i'm hurt

 **uriboo** stop it, sol  
 **uriboo** well, now i like him, okay? do you guys have a problem with that?

 **seokkie** nope

 **shua** nah

 **naegahosh** oooooohhh kwannie is mad 🤣🤣

 **hannie** at least they're quicker than some other people that i know 🤨🤨

 **shua** shut it, han

 **hannie** 😚😚 i love you too

 **seokkie** besides, we've an announcement to make too

 **hannie** we?!

 **seokkie** yup. jisoo and me are boyfriends now

 **hannie** WHAT

 **cheolie** omg

 **WOOZI** congrats

 **dinoRAWR** CONGRATULATIONS HYUNGDEUL!

 **wonWOO** good for you guys

 **seokkie** thank you 🥺🥺 we want to thank everyone who has always been there for us

 **hannie** especially me  
 **hannie** 😊😊

 **shua** shut it, han  
 **shua** but yes, especially you

 **hannie** 😊😊

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOO-YA, I'M DONE WITH SEOKSOO! 😄😄


	14. I DONT WANNA HEAR SAD SONGS ANYMOREEEEEE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.  
>  **  
> legends:**  
>  wanna - want to  
> imma - I'm going to  
> saranghae - i love you
> 
> * **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations. It's not known by anyone at the moment.

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, chwenotchew -_  
[ Thursday, 21:41 ] 

**naegahosh** I DONT WANNA HEAR SAD SONGS ANYMOREEEEEE  
 **naegahosh** NO MOREEE

 **dinoRAWR** ???!

 **cheolie** huh

 **hannie** child?

 **uriboo** egggggggs  
 **uriboo** we needdddzzz EGGS

 **chwenotchew** cute  
 **chwenotchew** you guys are drunk or something?

 **uriboo** hansooooool

 **chwenotchew** yes, boo?

 **uriboo** we are out of egggs  
 **uriboo** 😩😩

 **chwenotchew** you want me to buy you some?

 **uriboo** yes plssssss  
 **uriboo** 😩😩

 **seokkie** MILK TOO! AND SOME HOTDOGS  
 **seokkie** WE ARE GOING INTERCONTINENTAL heeeh

 **wonWOO** not to be me  
 **wonWOO** but is the entire booseoksoon's house drunk?

 **cheolie** looks like it, should someone go over and check on them?

 **hannie** where are you guys?

 **shua** it's fine  
 **shua** i'm here with them

 **cheolie** what happened?

 **shua** soonyoung wanted to get drunk so he convinced the other two that it's a good idea to do so  
 **shua** even though i know the three of them have morning classes tomorrow

 **cheolie** and they just agree to what soonyoung wanted?

 **shua** he's really persuasive when he wants to be

 **dinoRAWR** peer pressure is real guys 😟😟

 **shua** #mood

 **WOOZI** so why aren't you drunk too?

 **shua** cause i'm too cool for that 😎😎

 **hannie** he just has a low tolerance for alcohol and doesn't want to risk it since it's a school night

 **shua** hey  
 **shua** say no to #peer pressure

 **chwenotchew** #preach

 **shua** 😎😎 thanks bro

 **chwenotchew** anytime bro

**golden boys**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua -_  
[ Thursday, 22:11 ] 

**hannie** so is there any particular reason why soonie started a drunk fest?

 **shua** i think you know, han

 **hannie** did you at least get them to eat something before they started drinking?

 **shua** what am i  
 **shua** their mother?

 **hannie** hong jisoo

 **shua** kidding  
 **shua** i did  
 **shua** that's why they're out of eggs in the first place

 **hannie** 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, chwenotchew -_  
[ Thursday, 21:41 ] 

**chwenotchew** open up  
 **chwenotchew** i'm here with the eggs

**MY BABY BOY 🥰🥰🥰🥰**   
_\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Friday, 07:17 ] 

  
**WOOZI** hey  
 **WOOZI** are you alive?

[ Friday, 07:51 ] 

**WOOZI** yo yo

[ Friday, 07:55 ] 

**WOOZI** i'm going to call the police if you don't answer

 **naegahosh** stoooooop  
 **naegahosh** let me perish in peace

 **WOOZI** oh cool, you are alive

 **naegahosh** unfortunately, yes  
 **naegahosh** 😩😩 my head hurts

 **WOOZI** that's what you get for getting drunk. go and take some ibuprofen 

**naegahosh** don't wanna move  
 **naegahosh** my head hurtssssss

 **WOOZI** wow  
 **WOOZI** i forget how whiny you become when you're hangover

 **naegahosh** if you're going to be mean, imma stop talking to you  
 **naegahosh** 😩😩

 **WOOZI** ok fine, i'm sorry. do you want me to bring over some hangover soup?

 **naegahosh** hoonieeee, you're the best friend everrrr  
 **naegahosh** 😩😩 yes, please

 **WOOZI** alright, wait for me

 **naegahosh** yeah i will  
 **naegahosh** also cause i can't move an inch without puking

**my sunshine**  
 _\- shua, seokkie -_  
[ Friday, 08:01 ] 

**shua** you know  
 **shua** if you asked me to come over just to watch my boyfriend puked his guts out the entire night, i might have to rethink about our relationship

 **seokkie** 😔😔 i'm sorry hyung

 **shua** well...since i'm feeling magnanimous today  
 **shua** i shall but only on one condition

 **seokkie** what is it?

 **shua** be with me for the rest of my life and i promise you that i'll gladly rub your back while you puke, no matter the time and day

 **seokkie** 😭😭  
 **seokkie** hyungggggg

 **shua** deal?

 **seokkie** YES YES

 **shua** i really really really really do love you, my sunshine

 **seokkie** stop trying to make me cry while i'm hungover  
 **seokkie** and i love you too hyung

 **shua** for the rest of my life?

 **seokkie** no hyung  
 **seokkie** for the rest of our lives

**that boy i ❤️ (and he loves me back!)**  
 _\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Friday, 08:01 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** houston, we got a problem

 **the8** what?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** there's this guy who i think is hella cute  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** and i would to ask if he wants to go on a date with me on this lovely day?

 **the8** junnie, i hope i'm that guy or we might really have a problem. and yes, i would love to

 **thathandsomechinesedude** baby, you are my one and only

 **the8** 🥺🥺

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i'll be there in 5 minutes! zoom zoom

 **the8** where are you? i woke up and you're gone

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i went out for a while to buy us breakfast. i got us some youtiao and porridge

 **the8** 🥺🥺 i love you

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i love you too, babe

**ji, ji, ji, ji, baby baby 😍😍**  
 _\- mingoo, WOOZI -_  
[ Friday, 08:17 ] 

**mingoo** 😭😭😭😭 hyunggggg, save me!!

 **WOOZI** what's wrong gyu?!

 **mingoo** i left my art portfolio at your studio and my latest assignment is in there 😭😭

 **WOOZI** let me guess  
 **WOOZI** you need me to pick it up and bring it over to your class?

 **mingoo** yes please 😭😭

 **WOOZI** alright, let me drive back to the studio and get it for you

 **mingoo** thank you hyung  
 **mingoo** saranghae!

 **WOOZI** see you gyu

**MY BABY BOY 🥰🥰🥰🥰**   
_\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Friday, 09:35 ] 

**naegahosh** uhm  
 **naegahosh** how far is the restaurant from my place?

 **WOOZI** OH SHIT

 **naegahosh** why

 **WOOZI** it totally slipped my mind  
 **WOOZI** gyu accidentally left his portfolio at my studio and he needed it for his next class. so i'd to get it for him and uh, after he submitted it, we went for breakfast

 **naegahosh** 😢😢  
 **naegahosh** goodbye my hangover soup, it's been a nice dream

 **WOOZI** damn, i feel bad  
 **WOOZI** let me just ask gyu if we can cut this date short and i'll just rush to buy some soup for you

 **naegahosh** hey ji, don't do that  
 **naegahosh** i'm just kidding. just enjoy your breakfast date with your boyfriend, okay? i know you've been busy lately and didn't have much time to spend with him. i'll just crash min and jisoo-hyung's date and beg them to buy me some food

 **WOOZI** are you sure?  
 **WOOZI** i don't think gyu would mind

 **naegahosh** even if he doesn't mind, it doesn't mean you should  
 **naegahosh** it's okay, hoonie! 😊😊 i'll survive, this is not my first hangover

 **WOOZI** alright  
 **WOOZI** take care ya

 **naegahosh** 😊😊 you too!

* * *

* * *

**BEST FRIENDS 4 LYFE**  
 _\- naegahosh, wonWOO -_  
[ Saturday, 20:01 ] 

**wonWOO** stop

 **naegahosh** ??!  
 **naegahosh** that's so random, a bit of background would be nice

 **wonWOO** i can feel you being moody and gloomy all the way from my dorm  
 **wonWOO** so stop it

 **naegahosh** i'm sorry?!

 **wonWOO** nah, i'm just playing with you  
 **wonWOO** do you want me to come over?

 **naegahosh** i can't drink with you  
 **naegahosh** jeonghan-hyung put me on a temporary alcoholic ban **😔😔  
**

 **wonWOO** smart and anyway, we don't need to get drunk

 **naegahosh** super mario?

 **wonWOO** you're on

_**HIGHLIGHT**  
\- naegahosh, dinoRAWR, thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Sunday, 10:11 ] 

**naegahosh** hey jun?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** what's up buddy?

 **naegahosh** not sure if it's too late for me to ask this  
 **naegahosh** but is your friend still interested in going out on a date with me?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** uhhh  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** are you sure that's smart?

 **naegahosh** you're the one who hounded me the last time i said no

 **thathandsomechinesedude** yeah but that's before i know

 **naegahosh** know what?

 **the8** nothing hyung  
 **the8** junnie is just being annoying

 **thathandsomechinesedude** for once, i shall keep my silence  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😞😞

 **naegahosh** er, okaaay  
 **naegahosh** so, about your friend?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** yeah, i'll give you his number  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** have fun and be safe, don't do the things i wouldn't do

 **dinoRAWR** that would be a very short list then

 **thathandsomechinesedude** shut it, kid

 **dinoRAWR** you can't make me 😗😗

 **thathandsomechinesedude** you know, just because you're jeonghan-hyung's favorite, it doesn't mean you're untouchable

 **dinoRAWR** hate to break it to you, hyung, but that's exactly what it means

 **thathandsomechinesedude** what if they go out of the country for a vacation? what then? you'll be all alone with no one to protect you  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** imagine that

 **dinoRAWR** soonyoung-hyung will protect me

 **thathandsomechinesedude** are you sure about that, kid? are you really really sure?  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** i just score him a date with my beloved friend

 **the8** yah junnie, stop terrifying that kid and help me with the onions

 **thathandsomechinesedude** coming baobei! 😊😊  
 **thathandsomechinesedude** see you around, channie 😉😉

 **dinoRAWR** ...

[ Sunday, 10:31 ] 

**dinoRAWR** i'm going to tell jeonghan-hyung on you!

 **thathandsomechinesedude** tell him i said hi 😉😉

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really want to end this before November ends. And seriously, 200 kudos and 4k hits?! You guise, 😔😔!!
> 
> **Line excerpts from the Instagram post are from Katy Perry's The One That Got Away.


	15. you are my miracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  bf - boyfriend  
> ofc - of course  
> qns - question  
> ust - Unresolved Sexual Tension  
> gc - groupchat
> 
> * **horanghae_priv** is Soonyoung's private Instagram account where he posts about his feelings and frustrations.  
> ** **soonyoung.kwon** is Soonyoung's Instagram account.  
> ** **WOOZImusic** is Jihoon's Instagram account.  
> ****Chapter title is from Woozi's Miracle

****

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, chwenotchew -_  
[ Monday, 11:08 ] 

**hannie** what's this i hear about soonie going on a date?!  
 **hannie** why doesn't anyone tell me anything anymore? 😔😔

 **cheolie** i tell you everything

 **hannie** that doesn't count, you're my bf and we live together

 **dinoRAWR** me too! **😁😁**

 **hannie** i know, darling. that's why you're my favourite 😌😌

 **wonWOO** playing favourites, i see

 **hannie** i won't have to if people just tell me what's going on 😠😠

 **naegahosh** sorry hyung  
 **naegahosh** it's a last-minute thing 😅😅

 **chwenotchew** i'm confused  
 **chwenotchew** isn't soonyoung-hyung in love with jihoon-hyung?

 **hannie** uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 **shua** oh damn

 **uriboo** CHWE HANSOL, I TOLD YOU THAT IN CONFIDENCE!  
 **uriboo** JIHOON-HYUNG DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT IT YET, YOU DUMB DUMB

 **thathandsomechinesedude** wow rip chwe hansol

 **the8** rip chwe hansol (2)

 **dinoRAWR** rip chwe hansol (3)

 **cheolie** rip chwe hansol (4)

 **wonWOO** rip chwe hansol (5)

 **chwenotchew** oh shit

[ **naegahosh** left the groupchat! ]  
[ **naegahosh** will no longer receive messages from the groupchat! ]

**hannie** oh damn  
 **hannie** seok, kwan?

 **seokkie** on it

 **uriboo** 😔😔

"Hyung, are you in there?" Seokmin raps lightly on Soonyoung's bedroom door. Seungkwan is right behind him, anxiety radiating from his body in waves. "Hyung?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Soonyoung's muffled voice echoes through the door.

 _Uh oh,_ that's not a good sign.

"Hyung, come on. I know everything seems overwhelming right now but I promise you we'll get through this together. You're there for us when we needed someone to lean on, so let us be there for you too." Seokmin says as he gives the door another knock. "You don't have to face this alone."

Seungkwan leans over Seokmin's shoulder and says, "I'm so sorry, hyung. I should have never betrayed your confidence like that. Even if Hansol is my boyfriend."

Despite his outer appearances, Soonyoung is an introvert through and through. And even though they both know this is not something that could be easily rectified with a hug or two, they have to try. It's not fair for their hyung to face his dark thoughts alone when he has brothers that he could lean on.

Their hearts leap in anticipation when the door finally creaks open. Soonyoung appears with puffy eyes and a disheveled look. "He knows." Soonyoung's lips wobble as his eyes start to shine once again. "He knows now and everything's _ruined_."

"Oh, hyung." Seokmin moves to hug his hyung tight. Seungkwan follows suit. "Nothing's ruined, we can promise you that."

* * *

**❤️❤️ my boo ❤️❤️**  
 _\- chwenotchew, uriboo-_  
[ Monday, 12:18 ] 

**chwenotchew** boo  
 **chwenotchew** i'm so so so so so soooo sorry

 **uriboo** how could you?!  
 **uriboo** you made my hyung cry and everything. i'm mad at you 😤😤

 **chwenotchew** i know. 😓 i already got chewed out by jeonghan-hyung and josh-hyung  
 **chwenotchew** uhm, is soonyoung-hyung ok?

 **uriboo** he fell asleep after crying for like an hour  
 **uriboo** you need to apologize to him

 **chwenotchew** i promise i will but i'm not sure if he would want to see my face right now  
 **chwenotchew** 😓😓

 **uriboo** hyung is not a vindictive person, he knows it's a honest mistake. he doesn't blame you at all  
 **uriboo** he's just trying to process the fact that the person he has feelings for now knows and he's afraid of how jihoon-hyung will react

 **chwenotchew** but jihoon-hyung loves him  
 **chwenotchew** i can see it whenever they're together

 **uriboo** but he doesn't know it yet, sol  
 **uriboo** and he's with mingyu-hyung remember?

 **chwenotchew** wait  
 **chwenotchew** they're still together?!

 **uriboo** what do you mean?  
 **uriboo** of course they are!

 **chwenotchew** oh  
 **chwenotchew** ohhhhhhhh  
 **chwenotchew** boo, i think i fucked up

 **uriboo** yeah you did

**ji, ji, ji, ji, baby baby 😍😍**  
 _\- mingoo, WOOZI -_  
[ Monday, 15:48 ] 

**mingoo** can we talk?

 **WOOZI** sure, your place?

 **mingoo** i'm right outside your apartment

 **WOOZI** you serious? when did you get here?

 **mingoo** a while back. there's something important that we've to discuss

 **WOOZI** ok ok, do you want to come up?

 **mingoo** no, hyung  
 **mingoo** i think it's best if i don't come up. i'll wait for you to come down

 **WOOZI** gyu, is it about

 **mingoo** i think it's best if we've this conversation face-to-face  
 **mingoo** please hyung, i don't want to drag this any longer than i've to

 **WOOZI** yeah ofc   
**WOOZI** give me a second

Jihoon runs like the devil is after him.

Mingyu doesn't sound too good. For the first time since they got together, he's afraid for their future. Will there even be one after today?

He takes the stairs, unable to bear the torment of waiting for the escalator to climb up and bring him down. When he reaches the lobby, he sees his boyfriend standing where he said he would. Breathless, he takes a moment to re-gain his bearing as his heart thunders. "Hey, Gyu. What's so urgent that—"

"Hyung, let's _break up._ "

His blood runs ice cold. Did he hear that right? Did his boyfriend just said that he wants a break-up? "I'm sorry, _what?"_

"You heard me. I think we should break-up."

How can Mingyu be so calm about this? Did he realize what he's saying? "Is it something I did? Tell me and I'll fix it, I promise, just—" _Don't break up with me._

Mingyu shakes his head, a sad smile on his lips. "You did nothing wrong, hyung. It's more of what you didn't do." He says. "Do you know you've never told me, not even once, that you like me? We've been together for close to six months, hyung. I'm not expecting some big declarations of love but just a small admission that you feel something for me like I do for you. At first, I thought that's simply who you are. Aloof like the typical Busan man. You seem like a reserved type, maybe saying 'I love you' to someone is a big deal for you. But then, you've no such concern saying it when Jeonghan-hyung asked you to and again when Seungcheol-hyung complained about how you've never said the same to him. And Soonyoung-hyung...you never fail to show him how precious he is."

"I'll change. I promise."

"Don't, hyung. I'm not asking you to change for me. I don't think that's fair for either of us. But I respect myself enough to know that I deserve to be with someone who's not in love with someone else."

"What-t?"

"You're in love with Soonyoung-hyung. Admit it. You always have been."

"That's not..."

"Then say it right now. Say that you feel nothing for him and we'll pretend none of this ever happened."

"I..." A pause. "Gyu, please."

"That's what I thought. You know, hyung, at least Soonyoung-hyung is brave enough to admit to his feelings about you. Even though he has never directly confessed them to you. I've never pegged you as a coward, so don't be one now."

"I—"

"Goodbye, hyung. Thank you for everything."

"I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you." _I never meant to hurt him too._

"I know, hyung." Mingyu smiles, a tear finally falling. "That's why I didn't punch you in the face right now. It will probably hurt for a while but I'll be okay. You should go to him, he's been waiting for a while now. Don't make him wait much longer. He really does love you, you know?"

"You know, if I never—"

"Yeah."

"—and if..."

"Yeah."

Jihoon nods. There's nothing left to say. "Take care."

"You too, hyung."

And once again, Jihoon finds himself running towards someone.

* * *

**jeonghan-hyung**  
 _\- hannie, WOOZI -_  
[ Monday, 19:07 ] 

**WOOZI** hyung

 **hannie** he's at the dorm

 **WOOZI** thanks

 **hannie** don't hurt him anymore or i swear to god, i'll hunt you down

 **WOOZI** i won't  
 **WOOZI** i promise

 **hannie** 😊😊

"You're here." Soonyoung says when he opens his bedroom's door and sees his best friend standing right there. He doesn't look surprised at all. It's as though he has resigned himself to _something_. "Let's do this real quick then."

Jihoon frowns. "What?"

"You're here to reject me, right? Say that you only see me as your best friend and nothing more. I know you're in love with Gyu and everything so please, let's do this quickly."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Please stop pretending. I'm so tired."

Jihoon should know by now. There's no more use trying to pretend. And he's just so tired of holding on to these feelings that are only pulling him down to drown. It won't do him any good to keep holding on. Maybe this rejection will be the push he desperately needs to get over his best friend.

But Jihoon proves him wrong by putting his hands on his cheeks and pulling him closer. "Listen to me, I'm not going to reject you, okay? So whatever nightmares you're keeping at bay, make them go away."

"Don't." Soonyoung croaks. "Don't make me hope for something you couldn't give."

"I'm such a fool for not saying this sooner." Jihoon says. "I love you. I love you so damn much that I don't know what to do with all of these feelings. The thing is, and this will make me seem like the greatest asshole of all-time, _I know._ I've known all along...about your feelings for me. Hansol didn't tell me something that I don't already know." He sighs, remembering all the moments when he _knew_ but didn't want to admit. Because admitting would make it real and he doesn't know how to deal with _something real_ when it comes to Soonyoung. Maybe Gyu's right after all. Maybe he is a coward when it comes to Soonyoung. "I know it when I turn around sometimes and see you already staring back at me. I know it when you selflessly chose to be there for me no matter what, when you chose me over everyone else. And I also know it when I picked you up drunk that one time and you kept mumbling about how much you hate it when I shine too brightly and can I please stop being so dazzling to the eyes cause it's not fair to be blinded all the time."

"Then why didn't you...?"

"Because I was a coward. You're one of my oldest friends. I'm so scared of losing you because I'm _me._ I'm the person who works too much that I forget birthdays, dates and anniversaries. I'm awkward and cold. Who would want someone like me?"

"I do! I love you just the way you are. Haven't you figure that out by now? Why do you think I've been in love with your ass for so long?"

Jihoon grins. "So you admit that you do love me."

A blush. "Well, you admit to it too!"

"That I did. I love you, Kwon Soonyoung. Thank you for waiting for me all this while."

Soonyoung smiles. "I love you too."

* * *

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI, mingoo, the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, chwenotchew -_  
[ Monday, 20:11 ] 

[ **mingoo** is removed from the groupchat! ]  
[ **mingoo** will no longer receive messages from the groupchat! ]

[ **naegahosh** is added to the chat! ]

**hannie** 😰😰

 **WOOZI** gyu asked me to do it, said that it would feel awkward to be here since we aren't together anymore  
 **WOOZI** so uh

 **dinoRAWR** wait a minute, does that mean what i think it means?  
 **dinoRAWR** i don't want to be another hansol

 **chwenotchew** 😩😩 i'm so sorry hyung

 **WOOZI** it's fine  
 **WOOZI** uh, i should be thanking you actually. you gave me the push i needed

 **chwenotchew** REALLY?!

 **WOOZI** yeah  
 **WOOZI** but please don't do it again

 **chwenotchew** i promise i won't!

 **dinoRAWR** WILL SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER MY QNS?!

 **WOOZI** yes chan  
 **WOOZI** we're together

 **seokkie** HOLY SHIT

 **wonWOO** is the angst finally over? can we all breathe normally around you guys again?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** i don't know, wonwon. there could be ust

 **WOOZI** 🙃🙃  
 **WOOZI** i'm going to hurt you real bad, jun

 **the8** hey! don't threaten my boyfriend  
 **the8** and congrats

 **cheolie** congrats!!

 **hannie** uh uh  
 **hannie** why is soonie so quiet?  
 **hannie** i expect him to blow up this gc or something the moment you guys got together

 **WOOZI** uhhh, he kinda fell asleep  
 **WOOZI** and i don't want to wake him up

 **hannie** awwwwwww

 **cheolie** did he fall asleep on you? soonyoung likes to cuddle, especially with someone he likes. and he likes you a whole lot

 **WOOZI** i can neither confirm nor deny

 **hannie** OOOOOH THEY ARE TOTALLY CUDDLING

 **WOOZI** hyung please

 **cheolie** i want to cuddle too 🥺🥺

 **hannie** come on, babe. let's give the kids a run for their money

* * *

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
 _\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI , the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, chwenotchew -_  
[ Tuesday, 07:17 ] 

**naegahosh** EVERYONE  
 **naegahosh** I HAVE A BOYFRIEND NOW 😁😁  
 **naegahosh** HOONIE, SAY HI

 **WOOZI** youngie, they know who i am

 **naegahosh** 😔😔  
 **naegahosh** but not as my boyfriend though

 **WOOZI** sigh  
 **WOOZI** hi everyone. i'm lee jihoon, kwon soonyoung's boyfriend. it's a pleasure to meet you guys

 **cheolie** hi ji

 **hannie** hi soonyoung's boyfriend!! hurt him and i'll 🔪🔪 **  
**

 **shua** hey jihoon

 **thathandsomechinesedude** hi 'the person who will soon be hanging out at our dance studio a whole lot more'

 **wonWOO** hey hoon, so happy for you guys

 **the8** hi hyung

 **seokkie** hyunggggggg, me so happy 😭😭😭😭 and hello, soonyoung-hyung's boyfriend! 😁😁

 **uriboo** helllooooo hyung

 **dinoRAWR** hi hyung

 **chwenotchew** wow, the power soonyoung-hyung has. he got the whole gc doing this **  
chwenotchew** and hello, hyung. what's up?

 **naegahosh** I LOVE YOU GUYS  
 **naegahosh** 😄😄😄😄

 **hannie** you know  
 **hannie** when soonie is this happy, i feel like we're going to be surrounded by 100,000 years of good karma

 **cheolie** #mood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone, say thank you to Hansol 😂😂. OMG, one more chapter left! It will be the epilogue. 🥺🥺
> 
> *Line excerpts from the Instagram post are from James Arthur's Empty Space.


	16. A Family That Loves Together Stays Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Note** : Just a casual reminder, this story will be written in the format of a chat fic with minor narration. Please expect chatspeak or internet shorthand. Some typos or spelling errors are purely intentional.
> 
>  **legends:**  
>  gc - groupchat  
> lmao - laughing my ass off  
> rn - right now  
> omw - on my way  
> imma - I'm going to  
> anw - anyway  
> whut - what
> 
> — **jisoo.hong** is Joshua's Instagram account. Line excerpts from the Instagram post are from Pearl Jam's Sirens.  
> — **moonjunhui** is Jun's Instagram account. Line excerpts from the Instagram post are from Seventeen's My I.  
> — **WOOZImusic** is Jihoon's Instagram account. Line excerpts from the Instagram post are from Seventeen's Home.

**HANNIE & CO.**  
_\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI , the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, chwenotchew -_  
[ Friday, 11:17 ] 

**seokkie** babe  
**seokkie** come over, i'm horny

 **shua** oh baby  
**shua** you're in the main gc

 **thathandsomechinesedude** LMAO  
**thathandsomechinesedude** SOMEONE'S THIRSTY

 **WOOZI** really  
**WOOZI** i could have gone my whole life without seeing this 😪

 **cheolie** chill guys, it's a honest mistake

 **hannie** SHUA, LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY SUMMER CHILD  
**hannie** 😤😤

 **uriboo** haha, bet seok-hyung is mortified rn

 **chwenotchew** it's okay hyung, we've been there sometimes

 **seokkie** i'm never going out of my room ever again

 **naegahosh** DON'T DO IT ON MY BED  
**naegahosh** or the kitchen counter  
**naegahosh** OR the sofa

 **uriboo** the nerve of this guy  
**uriboo** hyung, you just made out with jihoon-hyung on the sofa last week

 **WOOZI** kwan

 **naegahosh** LIKE YOU CAN TALK  
**naegahosh** who's the one that couldn't even wait to get inside the apartment before you start making out in the hallway?

 **wonWOO** yikes  
**wonWOO** y'all are such hoes

 **hannie** 😓😓  
**hannie** what happened to my innocent kids? where did they go?

 **shua** han, you're the worst of us all. don't fake

 **dinoRAWR** apparently they have all grown up and become thirsty as hell

 **cheolie** chan!  
**cheolie** language

 **dinoRAWR** hyung, you got nothing on me  
**dinoRAWR** i'm not the one who's sinning with anyone

 **wonWOO** me too  
**wonWOO** we can claim the high road

 **dinoRAWR** the high road is ours

* * *

**my sunshine**  
_\- shua, seokkie -_  
[ Friday, 11:41 ] 

**seokkie** uh **  
seokkie 👉👈  
**

**shua** i'm omw

 **seokkie** btw you need to buy some lube  
**seokkie** we're all out

 **shua** damn, really?  
**shua** we just bought some two weeks back

 **seokkie** 😅😅  
**seokkie** well, when you've three pairs who are actively doing it...

 **shua** say no more  
**shua** i'll head over once i buy it

 **seokkie** okay hyung  
**seokkie** i can't wait to see you 🥺🥺 miss you so much

 **shua** i miss you too, baby

 **seokkie** i need to get inside you like yesterday

 **shua** you can't see me but i'm yeeeting really really fast

 **seokkie** hurry

 **shua** yeet

 **seokkie** 😊😊

* * *

**that boy i ❤️ (and he loves me back!)**  
_\- thathandsomechinesedude, the8 -_  
[ Friday, 12:31 ] 

**thathandsomechinesedude** haohao

 **the8** yeah?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** do you have a name, or can I call you mine?

 **the8** i'll be yours if you be mine

 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😲😲

 **the8** if you were a vegetable, you’d be a cute-cumber  
**the8** people say that disneyland is the happiest place on earth, but they've never been in your arms  
**the8** i lost my number, can i have yours?

 **thathandsomechinesedude** haohao, stop!!  
**thathandsomechinesedude** 😭😭

 **the8** but i'm just getting started

 **thathandsomechinesedude** you make me feel so shy  
**thathandsomechinesedude** 🥺🥺

 **the8** don't want to stop, need to tell you how much you mean to me  
**the8** we wasted too much time

 **thathandsomechinesedude** haohao 🥺🥺🥺🥺  
**thathandsomechinesedude** you know i love you, right?

 **the8** always  
**the8** now get ready

 **thathandsomechinesedude** whyyy

 **the8** i'm going on a date with the world  
**the8** cause you're my world

 **thathandsomechinesedude** 😭🥺

* * *

**MY BABY BOY 🥰🥰🥰🥰**   
_\- naegahosh, WOOZI -_  
[ Friday, 15:11 ] 

**naegahosh** hoonie, i'm thirty minutes away  
**naegahosh** do you want me to come and get you?

[ Friday, 15:16 ] 

**naegahosh** babe?

[ Friday, 15:21] 

**naegahosh** i'm assuming you're busy?

[ Friday, 15:27] 

**naegahosh** alright, imma do this then since it feels like a good time to do it  
**naegahosh** you're one of the best thing that ever happened to me. i don't know how did i get so lucky to have you in my life. i feel like i lucked out or something. but anw, i just want to thank you for giving me a chance to love you. i promise i'll never waste another second without you in my life. i love you, hoonie. i always have, always will  
**naegahosh** and that's why i think you should know just how much  
**naegahosh** check out @horanghae_priv  
**naegahosh** it's my ode to you

[ Friday, 15:41] 

**WOOZI** youngie? **  
**

**naegahosh** yeah babe

 **WOOZI** just so you know, when you get here, i'm going to hug you so hard

 **naegahosh** 🥰🥰

 **WOOZI** i love you too  
**WOOZI** so, so much

 **naegahosh** really?

 **WOOZI** remember when i told you once before that i didn't think of anyone in particular when i wrote my love songs?  
**WOOZI** well, i lied

 **naegahosh** whut?

 **WOOZI** i wrote adore u and home with you in mind  
**WOOZI** you're someone who's hard to forget. even back then, i got you on my mind all the time

 **naegahosh** even when i'm not with you?

 **WOOZI** yeah, even then

 **naegahosh** 😦😦 hoonieeeeee

 **WOOZI** so don't ever think you're luckier for having me, okay?  
**WOOZI** you waited for me all this while, even when i was being stupid so i think i'm the lucky one  
**WOOZI** happy two months, youngie

 **naegahosh** 😭😭 happy two months, hoonie!

* * *

**HANNIE & CO.**  
_\- cheolie, hannie, shua, thathandsomechinesedude, naegahosh, wonWOO, WOOZI , the8, seokkie, uriboo, dinoRAWR, chwenotchew -_  
[ Sunday, 10:17 ] 

**hannie** i love you guys  
**hannie** so fucking much  
**hannie** i can't promise i would lay down my life for any of you BUT i promise to consider it

 **seokkie** why so sudden  
**seokkie** but yes, i love you guys too

 **wonWOO** i feel like most of us are steroids on crack  
**wonWOO** but you guys are the best chosen family a guy can ever have, cheers to us

 **uriboo** that's beautiful hyung  
**uriboo** and same, i feel like life's been a lot more bearable with you guys here with me. i love you guys

 **chwenotchew** i know i'm the newest member in this crew  
**chwenotchew** but it's been lit knowing you guys

 **shua** same  
**shua** thank you for accepting us for who we are

 **cheolie** there's a lot of things that i could say but i would like to say this  
**cheolie** it's because of this group that i'm able to meet my soulmate so i want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. words cannot express just how much each of you means to me. especially you, hannie

 **hannie** babe, you always say the sweetest things 🥺🥺 imma give you head later, okie?

 **cheolie** i won't say no to that

 **wonWOO** way to ruin the mood, hyungdeul

 **thathandsomechinesedude** ANYWAY  
**thathandsomechinesedude** i know most of you think that you don't deserve me as a friend cause i'm just too cool

 **wonWOO** no one  
**wonWOO** and i mean NO ONE thinks that

 **thathandsomechinesedude** but you do and i love you guys

 **the8** feelings can be a pain in the ass to handle sometimes  
**the8** but it's never a chore when it comes to jun and you guys. so yeah, we cool

 **dinoRAWR** YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!  
**dinoRAWR** I LOVE YOU!!

 **WOOZI** we've never been the cool kids on the block but i know what we are  
**WOOZI** a family  
**WOOZI** and i love this family

 **naegahosh** i know it has been a turbulent year for most of us  
**naegahosh** but it makes me appreciate all of you guys even more than before  
**naegahosh** i really love you guys too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first started out in June, I didn't expect anything from anyone. I wrote this cause the idea of writing a chat! fic was fun. But what I didn't expect back then was to receive a few bad comments about how I should have written it better, that it should have been done more maturely, or that it was just...not good. I've never considered myself as that 'bad' of a writer but those comments made me feel like I was never good enough as one. So, I actually decided to drop this. Why bother investing in something that no one likes, right?
> 
> Anyway, long story short, in July and August, there were a few comments that literally picked me up and bought me back on the right path. They were the reasons why I started to update this again and I'm so, so proud of myself that I actually finished this. So I want to thank the people who did shine a light on me when it got dark. Your comments were the reason why Chapter 16 existed today.
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me till the end. For being patient with my haphazard way of updating this. I don't know why but I just feel warm and cozy whenever I interact with my readers on this particular work. So while I'm sad to see this ends, I'm so happy to have been able to finish this.
> 
> Anyway, this footnote officially concludes Bros Before Jihoon. Thank you for reading and God Bless!  
> — rei


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